Homer Owen Hacker (1917 – 2014), esteemed artist in his own right, was the son of Owen E. Hacker, artist and designer of metal labels and nameplates, most notably Four Roses liquor bottle labels, as well as a roster of other famous brands of cologne and furniture. The family legacy of cohesive design is visible in the latter Hacker’s artistic practice. The 1939 Ohio University Graduate became the art director and chief photographer at the Dayton Daily News, before serving on the Board of Directors of The American Watercolor Society, eventually founding The Ohio Watercolor Society.
One of his watercolors came to The Center fresh from auction, and we were honored to treat this meditative, serene work. The work had been mounted to an acidic board and was darkened and embrittled with age. It had minimal inherent distortion, with scattered scratches, abrasions, and gouges throughout, related to impact damage and age-related discoloration. Pressure sensitive tapes covered the entire perimeter of the verso, and the work was coated in a moderate layer of surface soil.
The watercolor was photographed for in-house documentation purposes before receiving treatment.
Our paper conservators carefully freed the watercolor from its acidic mat, and manually lifted off the pressure-sensitive tape.
Manually lifting tape from the work.
The sheet was surface cleaned to reduce soil using conservation-grade eraser crumbs.
Our paper conservator uses eraser crumbs to surface clean the watercolor.
Next, the sheet was dried between cotton blotters under weights. General distortion is inherent to the nature of the piece, so while every attempt was made to flatten the sheet, it was expected that some distortion would remain post-treatment.
Humidifying the work in an attempt to decrease distortion and flatten it.
Drying under cotton blotters post - humidification.
Areas of lifting fibers and media were consolidated using appropriate conservation adhesives. Then, the sheet was retouched to integrate areas of loss using reversible conservation media.
Retouching areas of loss with color pencils.
Finally, the piece was re-mounted to an archival 4-ply mount to conservation standards, ensuring that no further acidic damage would happen. The frame was assembled with a conservation-grade acrylic that protects against UV light rays, and installed into a frame with a gold rope trim profile.
We enjoyed the careful process that this treatment required and will be delighted to return this piece to its owner!
Sources:
https://www.askart.com/artist/Homer_Owen_Hacker/11000704/Homer_Owen_Hacker.aspx
