When this piece came to The Center for treatment, we knew it was only a matter of time until we discovered the story behind it. After several conversations with the owner followed by some research on our end, we discovered that the clock was designed by Irving Harper for the “Motion Notion” series in 1959-1960. Often referred to as the “Compass Clock”, the timepiece was produced by George Nelson & Associates, where Harper worked as a designer for nearly seventeen years.
Maria Sol Escobar, otherwise known as simply Marisol, was born in Paris to Venezuelan parents. She would later find a home in New York city, where in time her unique and varied artistic talents would make a significant mark on the art world. In the 1950s, she worked out of a small loft studio that she shared with a man name Richard Buzzle. In the evenings, she would borrow Richard’s tools. They became friends, and when it came time to part she made him a gift. The gift stayed privately within Richard’s family and was passed down through generations but never publicly exhibited. Years later, it would resurface when mentioned in a 2014 volume about Marisol’s career titled Marisol: Sculptures and Works on Paper. Most recently, it reappeared again when Richard’s daughter and granddaughter brought it to The Center for conservation.
Giving and receiving holiday cards is a beloved tradition, bringing friends and family members from near and far together with just a simple gesture. No matter how far from loved ones you may be, opening a holiday card can make you feel close and connected to those you miss. This was the feeling that one of our clients had when he recently discovered some long-lost original artwork for old holiday cards.
The field of conservation continuously evolves as new technologies are introduced and assimilated into to a conservator's toolkit. From incorporating lasers to clean stone, metal, or wood to modeling painting cleaning after gecko feet; the field of conservation benefits greatly from innovation and technique development. On the contrary, conservation is also a very old field and many techniques and tools that were used hundreds of years ago are still in rotation today. The Gilding Department is one such department where modern innovations are incorporated, however little has changed in regard to materials and techniques over hundreds of years.
Recently, The Conservation Center’s team had the great honor of conserving several pieces from the interior of the Holy Cross Chapel of St. Andrew Greek Orthodox Church in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. After the objects sustained water damage, The Center’s team was happy to be able to assist in the process of preserving the pieces and the historical identity of the church.
From quick triage treatments to long on-site hours, the past few months at The Center have been full of surprises. To wind down a busy season, we are bringing back our reoccurring “A Day in the Life” Photo Series. Browse the images below to see what our conservators, account managers, and shipping team have been up to both inside The Center's Chicago laboratory and beyond.
This past August, two conservators from The Conservation Center traveled to Louisville, KY to conserve the vibrant collection of public art on display at The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts.
The Kentucky Center seeks to cultivate the artistic scene in Louisville by providing programming ranging from music and theater performances to numerous outreach and education services, The permanent artworks displayed throughout The Kentucky Center feature a number of notable artists including Alexander Calder, John Chamberlain, Edgar Degas, and Joan Miro.
This spring at The Center, the circus was in town and you won't believe your eyes at the amazing transformation of one client's very special family heirlooms. The client's maternal grandfather, along with his father and grandfather, were part of the Galetti’s Circus, a circus that toured Europe and America in the late 19th century. The client's relatives were responsible for feeding and caring for the famous performing monkeys as the circus traveled.
At The Conservation Center, we are fortunate to have the opportunity to learn about the personal histories and meanings of the pieces and collections that are brought to us for treatment. Each piece that comes to us has a unique story to tell. When we recently received a collection of rare books damaged in a violent storm and learned about their importance to our client, we were honored to assist with the conservation of the pieces and preservation of the history and meaning they held.
Our client, an avid book collector, sought out a five-volume collection, Norman Conquest of England, after learning more about his ancestry through DNA testing. He found that he had Celtic, Scandinavian, and Viking origins. This spurred his deep interest in learning about the history of these cultures, and encouraged him to add to his book collection with rare, historical books on these subjects.
Untitled was brought to The Center to address age-related issues and improper housing. The sheet had been hinged directly to a linen mount and there was select off-gassing onto the glazing from printed passages of the black ink. The overall sheet exhibited darkening due to age-related discoloration caused by the presence of the linen-lined support.
Marisol was a Venezuelan-American active in the New York art scene in the 1960s. Influenced by both her contemporaries and Pre-Colombian figures, Marisol was known for assembling figurative wooden sculptures using a variety of media.
Due to the unique media in Women Leaning, these figures were treated by The Center’s Objects, Furniture, and Paintings Departments. The figures exhibited areas of loss, and assorted condition issues such as gouges and shrinkage splits.
Currently, the painting is undergoing surface cleaning to remove grime and accretions that have built up on the piece over time, with the right half having been cleaned, and the left half still awaiting treatment. The reverse of the painting will also be cleaned, using a soft brush and vacuum. To complete treatment, conservators will continue to locally consolidate areas of flaking paint, and to fill and texture losses in the painted surface. Inpainting will also be carried out in areas of loss and abrasion, using reversible conservation paints.
Adhering to the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990, The Center collaborated with Richard Tuttle to determine the best treatment methods for the works, Blue/Red (white) and Blue/Red (x-bullet). After transporting the pieces to New York for the artist to review and approve the proposed treatment, Tuttle decided that surface cleaning was not necessary.
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.”
It was the middle of a hot July, and Tom Reiss was in the process of moving across the state of Michigan to resettle his home closer to the lake. When the hired moving company unloaded his collection of fine antique furniture and heirlooms from their truck, Tom was astonished by the way his pieces were packed and the manner in which they were being handled and unloaded.
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.
We are pleased to announce the acquisition of two additional storage facilities, located just blocks from our 400 N. Wolcott main location. With the addition of these spaces, we have also expanded our shipping and art handling team to allow us to not only offer more state-of-the-art secure storage, but also to continue to expand our dedicated and professional team to meet the growing demand of our clients’ public, private, and commercial collections.
CONTACT US
312.944.5401
