Chicago Artist

Conserving the World Within a Thorne Miniature

Conserving the World Within a Thorne Miniature

There is something inherently captivating about the world in miniature. Whether it evokes the childlike wonder of a dollhouse, a desire for order and control, or the way a reduced scale sharpens our attention to detail, miniatures invite close looking in a way few other objects can. It’s no secret that we have a particular fondness for them at The Conservation Center (our staff art contest theme offered recent proof), so when a client brought in a remarkable miniature street scene by Narcissa Niblack Thorne, we were instantly charmed. 

Brightening a Blanke Painting: Marie Blanke, Chicago Artist

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.

Leon Golub's Burnt Man

Leon Golub's Burnt Man

After seeing his work for the first time in the 1960’s, Ronald, a client of The Center, has had a deep appreciation for the art of Leon Golub. When a fellow artist personally introduced Ronald and his parents to Golub, they were immediately taken with his work. “When we met him we were so impressed with his technique and his subjects, that we immediately bought three examples of his work.” One of the three paintings, titled Burnt Man, arrived at The Center over fifty years later to undergo treatment for an unstable paint layer.

Oak Park Snow Scene

Oak Park Snow Scene

Although Chicago may be without the standard layer of snow for this time of the year, we here are The Conservation Center are lucky enough to have beautiful images around to remind us of a pristine snowfall. A client recently brought in just such a painting, though it wasn’t quite the impeccable snow scene it once was. Years of grime build-up and thick, discolored varnish had turned the crisp white snowfall into a dingy, brown landscape. But with some time, patience, and careful chemistry, Senior Paintings Conservator Amber Smith was able to bring the original colors back to this Oak Park snow scene.

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TCC Restores a Treasured Cliff Dwellers’ Painting

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TCC Restores a Treasured Cliff Dwellers’ Painting

John Warner Norton, a charter member of The Cliff Dwellers, became one of the most accomplished and sought-after muralists in Chicago and across the United States by 1920. Earlier, however, in 1910 as Norton’s career and The Cliff Dwellers were both newly beginning, one of his first commissions titled "Navaho" became one of the private club’s earliest acquisitions of art. "Navaho" was recently conserved by The Conservation Center.

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