Studio Gang is a widely recognized and respected architecture firm with offices in Chicago and New York. They are responsible for many worldly structures, including local Chicago icons, the Aqua Tower and Northerly Island. The Conservation Center is honored to have collaborated with Studio Gang on the design of our state-of-the-art conservation facility.
Tony Tasset, though born and raised in Cincinnati, has developed deep roots in Chicago and is a recognized artist in the Chicago art world. After Tasset moved to Chicago to earn his MFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1986, he has been actively producing art for the city to enjoy. Chicago residents and tourists alike might remember some of his public sculptures, such as the giant, 30’ tall eyeball sculpture in the Loop, the colorful storage-container sculpture from Grant Park that was transferred to the University of Illinois at Chicago campus where the artist now teaches, or the giant sculpture of a deer on the city’s newly-renovated Riverwalk showcased just last year.
Well before Matt Groening’s Marge Simpson character became pop icon, artist Ed Paschke (1939–2004) created his own version of a Yellow Lady in 1969. In the same way that the bizarre appearances and situations as depicted in “The Simpsons” comment on pop culture, Paschke’s manipulations of mass media aim to do the same. The technicolor tones and flat background aim to dissociate the woman from her body and her surroundings; the addition of the admiring man takes on the role of the consumer and the viewer, aiming to make the voyeur uncomfortable. While only minor conservation was needed for this vibrant painting, the private collector knew very little about its history, causing us to reach out to the Ed Paschke Foundation and even the artist’s daughter, Sharon Paschke. Neither was familiar of the piece’s existence, and Sharon, especially, was excited to see a new example of her father’s early work. In order to discover more about this very special Yellow Lady, we studied the canvas under ultraviolet light and found some surprising details. With these new findings, The Conservation Center was able to shed new light on this painting for its owner as well as the Paschke family.
Though Roger Brown was born in Alabama and split his time between homes in Chicago, Michigan, and California, the Windy City always held a special place in his heart. Brown moved to Chicago in 1962 to attend the American Academy of Art, where he completed a commercial design program. Brown then enrolled at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he received his BFA in 1968 and MFA in 1970. During this time, Brown and his colleagues (many of whom would become part of the group known as the Chicago Imagists) began to nurture an appreciation for self-taught artists, seeing them not as “outsider” artists, but as worthy of respect and inclusion into the mainstream art world. This, coupled with his travels throughout the United States, Africa, Europe, and Russia, had a profound influence on Brown’s art. Though his works are often bright and simple in composition, the artist’s practice frequently presents a darkly satirical view of contemporary life and American culture.
Chicago artist Theaster Gates acquired several volumes of historical EBONY magazines through a donation from the Johnson Publishing Corporation. The magazines were bound into several volumes that are currently housed and displayed at the Stony Island Arts Bank, an iconic building located in Chicago’s South Side that Gates purchased for the Rebuild Foundation . The Rebuild Foundation is a not-for-profit that focuses on redevelopment and neighborhood revitalization to engage artistic practice within the community.
Charles White, born and educated in Chicago, was one of the preeminent artists to emerge during the city’s Black Renaissance of the 1930’s and 1940’s. This year, White’s hometown is recognizing his contribution to the portrayal of African American culture and history with a retrospective of the artist’s paintings, drawings, and prints at the Art Institute of Chicago. After being on display in Chicago from now until September, the exhibition will travel on to New York’s Museum of Modern Art and Los Angeles’ County Museum of Art. Given the current recognition White is receiving locally, we were honored to also find ourselves interacting with the artist’s powerful work at the same time it was on display at the Art Institute.
The Conservation Center recently worked with Rush University Medical Center's archivist Nathalie Wheaton to unveil the contents of several time capsules recovered on Rush's campus during an excavation in August.
The time capsules dated back more than a century, and were recovered from the cornerstones of Presbyterian Hospital's Daniel A. Jones Memorial Building, Rush Medical College's Senn Hall, and Rawson Laboratory. Materials inside the capsules ranged from the 1800s to 1924, and The Center worked with Rush to remove and document the contents inside two of the three recovered capsules.
The Farnsworth House located in Plano, Illinois experienced a devastating flood in 2008. The Conservation Center was contacted and our team was sent to safely remove the wardrobe during restoration of the house. It remained secure in our fine art storage facility until conservation treatment was approved.
Whether massive in size or sensitive in material, many pieces that come to The Conservation Center present unique challenges that our conservators are always eager to take on. Most recently, this challenge came to us in the form of a giant teapot from the Springfield Art Association.
It was in September of 1862 when 15-year-old John Alexander Parker enlisted in the 18th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment of the Union Army. Although the minimum age requirement for enlisting was 18, it wasn’t unusual for younger boys to join. Often referenced as “The Boys’ War,” the Civil War provided a variety of positions for male youths. For John Alexander Parker, his role in the war was rooted in song: he was charged with carrying the Regiment’s drum.
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the end of The Civil War. Like any thread in the fabric of our cultural heritage, this point in our collective memory was captured countless times by the artist’s eye. With photography still in its infancy, fine art and literature still serve as major artifacts for this defining time period in American history. While many of the artist’s names have been lost over the years, the importance of their work stands as a testament to this era. One of these remarkable works is a painting titled Steamboat U.S.S. Switzerland on River (artist and date unknown), belonging to our friends at The University Museum at Southern Illinois University (SIU) in Carbondale, Illinois. The museum recently engaged The Conservation Center to preserve this piece of Americana, and also taking the opportunity to educate its audience in the importance of art conservation.
Last month, The Conservation Center spent a lovely Saturday afternoon with more than 40 members of the Freeport Art Museum (FAM)—a jewel of a collection located in Freeport, Illinois, right outside of Rockford. Together with Roberta Kramer, a Chicago-based art appraiser, we made a special presentation that marked the end of a two-year project, which, while not beginning under the most auspicious of circumstances, concluded with cause for celebration. Many key pieces of art from FAM’s collection were properly appraised and saved from water damage that occurred in its 2D storage unit.
Just in time for the holidays, The Conservation Center completed extensive frame work for a beautiful Madonna and Child painting for the Diocese of Rockford collection. Josh McCauley, one of our Senior Conservators, carved out new decorations by hand, showing off his true attention to detail and expert craftsmanship. Learn how the Madonna and Child frame was conserved.
When wandering a flea or antique market, one just never knows what treasures there are to be found. From terrific steals to relics from a past long forgotten, there is usually something to excite the fancy of just about anyone. During one of his frequent visits to the Grayslake Antiques market, The Conservation Center’s client Robert Le Clerq had one such awe-inspiring moment that brought him back into his younger days. He came upon an old, carved wooden sculpture that immediately reminded him of nuns of the order of the Sacred Heart. Though this probably would not be significant to most, Mr. Le Clerq has fond recollections of Barat College. From serving mass as an alter boy, to watching his older sister graduate, to even dating a few of the girls who attended the private Catholic school, Sacred Heart had played a significant role in Mr. Le Clerq’s younger days.
The First National Bank of LaGrange (FNBLG) recently brought its Presidential Check Collection--one of the most comprehensive in the country--to The Center for conservation. This assemblage of checks written by 39 of the 43 U.S. presidents captures a unique piece of American history and gives a glimpse back into the chief executives' professional and private financial lives.
In 1883 while presenting a lecture at Oxford, premier art critic John Ruskin said that “for a long time I used to say, in all my elementary books, that except in a graceful and minor way, women could not draw or paint. I’m beginning to bow myself to the much more delightful conviction that no one else can.” It was the paintings of artist Lilias Trotter (1853-1928) which were causing Ruskin to question his convictions. With Ruskin’s support, Trotter was at the cusp of a new career that could have changed art history; in fact, Ruskin believed that if Trotter devoted herself completely to her artwork, that "she would be the greatest living painter and do things that would be immortal."
Gertrude Abercrombie (1909 - 1977) was the only child of two opera singers who happened to be on tour in Texas the day she was born. While they continued to relocate throughout her early childhood, the family eventually settled in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago where Abercrombie lived for the remainder of her life. While Abercrombie had some formal art training (she took courses at The School at the Art Institute of Chicago and the American Academy of Art) and she worked in art advertising for a time. Here she quickly developed a distinct style that was all her own, taking inspiration from the Chicago jazz scene.
We are all going through a very challenging time on many levels: the health threat of COVID-19, the financial security of our families, the future of our jobs, and more. This has caused me to pause, reflect upon the history of The Conservation Center, and consider how we might use our past to inform our future as a team and company during this difficult time.
Anna Heyward Taylor (1879 – 1956) was a celebrated printmaker and one of the principal artists of the Charleston Renaissance. Her lush, vibrant prints frequently feature floral and avian motifs. We were thrilled when a client brought in an unusual Anna Heyward Taylor piece – with all the hallmarks of her work; however, there was one key difference: instead of a print, this work was the actual linoleum she used to make the prints themselves which she then painted to take on a life of its own. The client was concerned as the paint was peeling from the linoleum, due to an inherent vice in the work.
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