Robert Mallary: Sculpting the Future
Conserving a Salvaged Civil War Portrait
Shipping Basics
Whether you’re wrapping up a family heirloom to send to us, returning a fragile purchase to an online shop, or mailing a holiday gift to family, it’s important to pack your art or other delicate property safely and securely to ensure that it makes it to its destination in one piece. Professional art handling and shipping is always preferred and recommended, but there will always be situations when it makes more sense to do it yourself – here’s how to make sure you’re successful.
It's All in the Family: Conserving a Family Tree
People love to know where they come from. Online family mapping services have become popular in the past few years, used primarily to create “family trees,” a common way to trace genealogical lineage. Historians have traced the “tree” image back to a medieval piece illustrating the Tree of Jesse, used to map the genealogy of Christ. Chinese philosopher Confucius has the longest family tree in the world, more than 80 generations and including over 2 million members. Tracing lineage is emotionally and practically important for any family, so when we received a family tree in for treatment at The Center, we knew how special this would be for the family.
Heading Into Storm Season: Making a Disaster Plan, Part I
As summer rolls on, we’re heading closer to “storm season,” the part of the year where several regions of the country are more susceptible to natural disasters. For the next few months, we’ll be walking you through how to make a plan for these kinds of situations, to protect any assets and collections you might have in your home or work.
Blue Is the Warmest (and Costliest) Color
Preserving a Legacy: Conserving a Portrait of Marshall Field II
At The Conservation Center, we love hearing the stories our clients share about their artworks, and learning more about family histories. This was certainly true in the case of a portrait that was recently treated by our Painting Department. The sitter in the portrait is Marshall Field II, and the piece was brought to us for conservation treatment by his great-grandson, Marshall Field V.
Asafo Flags: A Stitch in Time
Hefner's Art Collection Lives On
Treasured Family Violin Treatment
Some of our favorite projects are ones rich in family history, like a violin our Furniture and Objects Department just finished working on this month. The violin, made by our client’s father, is a 1/4 size student instrument from Mittenwald, Germany, made between 1920 and 1930. The top is Sitka Spruce the neck ribs and back are of flamed maple.
It Takes a Team: Treating a Japanese Temple
Making sure that artworks live on for generations to come is among of our top priorities here at The Center. In many cases, achieving that means various departments have to play a part in ensuring that treatments go smoothly, and pieces are properly cared for throughout the conservation process. This is certainly true of a Japanese temple figure that recently came to the lab for treatment.
A Screen Sneak-Peak!
Good for the Sol: Conserving a LeWitt Sculpture
The Center’s conservators have become familiar with Lewitt’s work after conserving dozens of paintings, works on paper, and sculptural works by the artist. Our most recent interaction with the artist’s work was the treatment of his piece, “1 2 3 4 5 (Vertical),” a painted aluminum sculpture with a steel base.
The Delight of a Dubuffet
Seascape Escape
This sunny coastal scene was painted by Michalis Economou, a Greek artist who first learned painting techniques under the tutelage of Konstantinos Volanakis, also known as the “father of Greek seascape painting.” Although living in Paris for nearly 5 years, Economou’s oeuvre consists mainly of serene, rustic landscapes.
Gilded Brilliance: New Decorations for a Pair of 19th Century Frames
Truisms
A friend and long-time supporter of The Center recently brought in a piece to update its display. The artwork, which is composed of many individual artworks— plaques with various texts by Jenny Holzer— was to be rearranged and given new framing materials. The result is a work that is more cohesive and visually pleasing.
Great (Artist) Aunt Margaret
Many of us have things passed down from our family, maybe stuffed in boxes in the attic or basement, that are treasures to us. These treasures, though maybe not valuable in the eyes of the public (or art market), are priceless to us. “Everybody thinks their Great Aunt Margaret was a great artist,” said one of our clients. Yet sometimes, as that same client found out, it turns out to be true.
Brightening a Blanke Painting: Marie Blanke, Chicago Artist
A painting by early twentieth-century Chicago artist Marie Blanke was significantly brightened after a good cleaning and a fresh coat of varnish. The original canvas, which was deformed and brittle from age, was flattened with a combination of heat, suction, humidity, and weight techniques, and then strengthened by being lined to a prepared canvas. The painting was put back into its original frame, the miters of which were stabilized.
