The process of conservation can often yield dramatic results, revealing images that have been hidden behind dust and grime or aging varnish for years. This is certainly the case with a painting that we recently treated here at The Center. When the piece first arrived, it was not completely clear exactly what the painted image portrayed. Though the painting depicts the well-known Biblical scene of the Visitation, showing Mary greeting her cousin Elizabeth, as Joseph shakes hands with Zachariah, the image had been obscured by age-related issues.

To learn more about the conservation of the piece and the dramatic results, we sat down to discuss the process in greater detail with our Senior Paintings Conservator, Amber Schabdach. Read our interview with Amber here, and watch the video at the bottom of the interview to see the conservation process from start to finish.

Earlier this year, we had the privilege of framing an Edward Curtis photogravure, Two Strike. Little did we know, the piece would end up being featured in the Muskegon Museum of Art’s exhibition Edward S. Curtis: The North American Indian. Described as “an event of national significance celebrating the artistic genius and lasting cultural legacy of Edward Curtis,” the exhibition covers the work of a man “who sacrificed everything for is art, died in obscurity, but left behind one of the greatest artistic collaborations and photographed achievements in history.”

Click here to watch the interview with our Senior Furniture Conservator. 

For over twenty five years, The Center has been at the forefront of the disaster response field and in that time we've seen disasters from house fires and floods to hurricanes and tornadoes. It is a difficult field, as situations often prove to be mentally, emotionally, and physically trying. We rely on a team of veteran responders to train new staff members on procedures, prevention, and protection. In this article we will follow the journey of Client Services Associate, Sarah Phalen, and her intoroduction to disaster response. 

At The Conservation Center, we are tremendously lucky to act as stewards of history. Representations of the past come to our facility each day in the form of photographs, paintings, drawings, documents, and objects, and collectively, we spend hours studying, interacting with, and conserving each of these pieces. Through conservation projects, we learn more about personal histories, family histories, and international history, and each project presents us with the opportunity to help preserve these histories for generations to come. So, when a client came to us with an important family heirloom, that was also a physical remnant of a formative time in the history of our country, we were honored to assist.  

The Center has been involved in hundreds of disaster response scenarios over the last 33 years, and we wanted to share a few recent stories that impart how incredibly rewarding and humbling this type of preservation work can be for all who are affected and involved.

The staff at The Center could not have been more thrilled when a former employee, Megan, brought in a James Jeffrey Grant painting for conservation. It was a lovely, serene landscape painting of cows grazing in a luscious green field. Before finding its current home, the painting hung above a fireplace in Megan’s relative’s home for over 30 years where it was exposed to extreme fluctuations in temperature. Due to this environment, the paint layer was severely compromised and exhibited significant areas of flaking paint overall. This lead to numerous areas of exposed canvas and hundreds of tiny puzzle-like paint pieces that were no longer adhered to the painting’s surface.

Dear Friends of The Center:

I am familiar with sharing stories about the life of an object of art but not about the life of a person. It is with great sadness that I share with you that Bob Glick, one of the long standing and dedicated contributors to The Center’s Advisory Board team, recently passed away on April 15, 2017.

The RCA 648PTK television cabinet was announced on August 27, 1947. With 992 units produced in 1947 and 2,500 units in produced in 1948, the television set was a marvel of technology for its time, boasting a 15” x 20” picture, 13 channel coverage, an FM sound system, and Phono input. Marketed as a “striking ‘show-piece,’” the technology was all housed in a sleek, contemporary wooden cabinet, that would “add pride to ownership” for anyone who purchased the piece.

At The Conservation Center, we are always excited to treat pieces that utilize a wide range of our conservators’ skills, and help to preserve important moments in our cultural history. So, when a RCA 648PTK television cabinet came to us from the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis with water damage, we were excited to discuss the treatment options available for the conservation of the piece.

At The Conservation Center we are very fortunate to be surrounded by amazing art everyday. It is an extraordinary opportunity to work so intimately with many great pieces created by artists you have studied your whole life.   However during the day-to-day we often find ourselves focusing more on the physicality of the pieces as opposed to having discussions about the many artists that sparked our interest in this field in the first place.  Read on to the end of this article to find out which artists are some of our team's favorites!  Recently, we had the opportunity to conserve and frame one of our regular favorites, Alphonse Mucha.

The Conservation Center recently had the privilege of conserving two lithographs that were damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Our client inherited A Midnight Race on the Mississippi by Currier & Ives and J.J. Audubon’s Purple Martin (Calabash) from their parents in New Orleans. The pieces had been living in a second-floor storage unit when Hurricane Katrina blew through and ripped the roof off the facility, causing water to seep into the unit.

At The Conservation Center, we have the distinct privilege of seeing a remarkable variety of artworks and heirlooms come through our doors. We also have the privilege of getting to learn a bit about varied passions of the many dedicated collectors that seek conservation, and what it is that makes each of their collections unique.

To watch the video, click here.

There are certain iconic scenes in art that everyone from the casual museum-goer to the serious art collector can recognize instantly.  Scenes including the Last Supper, the rising of Apollo’s chariot, and the triumph of David over Goliath have been depicted by artists across the span of art history, and though the style and medium of these artworks may vary, the scenes remain easily identifiable. Another of these iconic scenes is that of the Last Judgement.  Artworks imagining the moment when the fate of souls is determined for eternity can be seen everywhere from the Sistine Chapel to local church walls. So when a large-scale painting of the signature scene came to The Conservation Center in need of treatment, we were honored to play a role in its conservation and preservation.