Client Stories

The Christmas Tricycle

The Christmas Tricycle

As we move through the holiday season, our focus turns to family dinners, quiet snowfalls, and the joyful challenge of finding the perfect gift; the gift that will be treasured for years to come. And when the years take their toll on those items, we here at The Conservation Center consider it a special privilege to help in preserving those family treasures. This holiday season, we share with you an item brought to The Center by Mary, who reached out to see if it would be possible to restore one of her favorite childhood Christmas gifts: a circa 1964 Murray tricycle.

A Stitch in Time

A Stitch in Time

When extraordinarily fragile pieces are treated by The Center, often the conservators recommend handling the pieces as little as possible to preserve their longevity.  So when Gloria Diaz brought in a delicate lace mantilla and expressed that she would like it to be functional for future ceremonies, we knew we had our work cut out for us.  

At the time Gloria brought in her mantilla, it had been used by three generations in twenty-four weddings, ten baptisms, on “Taking of the Veil,” and one First Communion.  Since the lace garment had been both well-loved and well-used, it exhibited inevitable signs of wear.  As Gloria noted, “I realized that the mantilla was near the end of its life if we did not do something to improve its condition.  Because of its special place in our family, we wanted the mantilla to be something that existing and future generations would use.”

Preserving "Regulations for the Army of the United States, 1913"

Preserving "Regulations for the Army of the United States, 1913"

The Conservation Center recently had the pleasure of working with Bill Hartel to treat “Regulations for the Army of the United States,” a 1913 U.S. Army military handbook.

 

Bill is an avid collector of rare books and acquires those that, in his opinion, “changed the world.” Highlights of his collection include a 1776 British first edition of Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense,” complete with handwritten defamatory comments about King George, and “Round the Moon” by Jules Verne, circa 1895, signed by the commander of the first actual voyage around the moon, Frank Borman. Bill is also an author and published the Chicago Tribune Best Seller “A Day at the Park” about Wrigley Field. Given the depth of his collection, a well-worn copy of an army handbook with a missing leather spine, fragile textblock, and water damage may seem like an anomaly. However, the book’s value lies in the role it played during a difficult time in Bill’s life.

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How Photo Conservation and Digital Restoration Reawakened a Family's History

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How Photo Conservation and Digital Restoration Reawakened a Family's History

For most people, the top drawers of their bedroom dressers are reserved for mismatched socks, so it was a delightful surprise for Rick Eisenstein to find a 97-year-old photograph rolled up in his father's old dresser drawer. "When he was in the hospital, I was looking for some clothes to take to him and came across this rolled up picture," Rick explained. "His parents were very important to him--with that being said, he was not a very sentimental person and kept very few things from his younger days." This photograph, however was special: his father kept it for nearly 60 years. Rick made a decision to bring the picture to The Conservation Center for examination and conservation.

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Painting With Wine: A Romantic French Work Conserved

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Painting With Wine: A Romantic French Work Conserved

Recently, The Conservation Center was introduced to a little-known, yet charming, oil painting entitled The Musician by a French artist named Louis-Armand Dupont. "I believe Dupont started an art school. I don't know his other artworks; all I know is he loved to paint," shared Alice Morales, the painting's owner, as she discussed the background of the work she brought to us. "I discovered he was actually a wine producer." With a little research, we found the winery is still active and has a portrait of Louis-Armand proudly displayed on the wall. Located in the Pays d’Auge region of Normandy, the Louis Dupont Family Estate is run by the living descendants of Dupont, though their research found records of their family in the area as far back as 1703. 

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From Russia With Love: Portrait of a Military Officer

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From Russia With Love: Portrait of a Military Officer

“This is an important piece of our family history,” commented Cindy Egoroff Alexander while discussing a portrait of her grandfather, Emil Egoroff. Cindy and her family recently entrusted The Conservation Center to treat and reframe a black and white photograph of Emil. “We know very little of our grandfather’s life in Russia,” she explained, emphasizing how precious the few details they uncovered were to understanding and remembering her family’s past. Cindy graciously shared the history passed down through the family with our team, shedding light on the story behind this handsome portrait.

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Don't Do It Yourself: Cautionary Tales of At-Home Art Treatments

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Don't Do It Yourself: Cautionary Tales of At-Home Art Treatments

There are few rites of spring more satisfying than the annual clean. And while spotless living spaces make a house a home, many of us unfortunately have to use harsh chemicals and solvents to achieve that goal. The application of products found under the kitchen sink can lead to chemical reactions on the surface of art objects that can prove to be quite serious, resulting in detrimental losses that are usually so much greater than the reward of a home cleaning approach. When it comes to caring for your art and antiques while freshening up around the house, we strongly advise our readers to adhere to the “DDIY” rule—Don’t Do it Yourself—and leave the job to professional art conservators.

A Cherished "May Milton" Lithograph by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Dances Back to Life

A Cherished "May Milton" Lithograph by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Dances Back to Life

Sometimes a singular work of art can inspire an entire collection. When this is the case, the collector cherishes that first piece above all others. When a client of The Conservation Center brings in a work that we can actually see the joy and affection brought on by it, those feelings are contagious. This is what happened recently when Bruce Romick, a private collector from Indiana, contacted us about one such treasured item. Mr. Romick and his wife had acquired a lithograph of May Milton by famed Post-Impressionist artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in 1978. While it was in very good condition when purchased, after 37 years, some degradation was to be expected. Our Paper Department was in charge to bring “May” back to life so it would continue to bring the Romicks the same joy for many years to come.

I Can See Clearly Now: Bringing a Family Heirloom Painting Back to Life

I Can See Clearly Now: Bringing a Family Heirloom Painting Back to Life

When The Conservation Center encounters an heirloom that has extraordinary sentimental value to our client, we always like to learn more about its history and the meaning of the piece for the family. Recently, Mary Anne Keane brought us a reproduction of Jean-François Millet’s (1814–1875) The Angelus that was on display in her living room. “Ever since my childhood, I’ve always had fond memories of this painting hanging in my grandparents’, and eventually my parents’ home,” said Mary Anne. “After finally inheriting The Angelus, I realized that if I didn’t take good care of the artwork now, though it had made it a century so far, it would not be around much longer for my family to appreciate.” Mary Anne also began investigating its provenance to better understand the origin of the piece.

Bringing a Grand 17th Century Tapestry Into the 21st Century

Bringing a Grand 17th Century Tapestry Into the 21st Century

When Marshall Kath, a private collector in Dallas, took note of a 2009 Sotheby’s Fine European Furniture and Antiques auction in New York City, he was looking for a piece that would spark conversation. Mr. Kath eventually purchased an attention commanding, 10 ft by 9.5 ft historic 17th-century tapestry that does just that. Titled A Brussels Old Testament Tapestry Depicting the Joseph Interpreting the Pharaoh’s Dreams, From a Series of The Story of Joseph, the tapestry was commissioned by either a royal family as a way of depicting a peaceful, serene life, or a church as a visual representation of significant elements of a particular faith; in this case, Jewish or Christian.

The Unicorn Gallops Again: Restoring a Truly Fantastical Painting

The Unicorn Gallops Again: Restoring a Truly Fantastical Painting

A whimsical painting recently appeared at The Conservation Center and caught the attention of our staff members. Titled Galloping Unicorn with Rainbow, this playful work (artist unknown) features exactly what it portrays: a joyful unicorn riding on an infinite rainbow. Through the conservation process, we uncovered a beautiful story behind this piece.

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Paint It Mick, Andy: A Private Collector's Very First Acquisition

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Paint It Mick, Andy: A Private Collector's Very First Acquisition

Sometimes in life, a piece of artwork takes you by surprise and before you know it, you can’t live without it. Such is the case for Mark, a private contemporary art collector in Chicago, who is also a friend of The Conservation Center. Mark began collecting art in the early 1980’s while living in New York City. He recently brought his very first acquisition from “way back when” to The Center to be reframed—and the piece Mark brought us has such a heartfelt story behind it we couldn’t resist sharing.

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Lilias Trotter: Missionary, Artist

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Lilias Trotter: Missionary, Artist

In the 1890’s, an English woman named Lilias Trotter sketched and wrote entries in her journals nearly every day for the last 40 years of her life. These small masterpieces documented her time spent in North Africa on missionary work. Three of those journals were recently discovered in Surrey, England and have been restored and digitized by The Conservation Center for future generations. Provided is a narrative of Trotter’s life and the challenge of tracking down these journals and sketchbooks as told by her biographer, Miriam Rockness.

More on Lilias Trotter >

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American Flag from the Fauerbach Brewery

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American Flag from the Fauerbach Brewery

At The Center, we treat items of great worth, historical artistic significance and shared cultural value. But perhaps some the most rewarding work we do is in preserving family heirlooms. These items very greatly from paintings to furniture and can be extremely valuable or purely sentimental, but all hold stories with meaning to the owners. We feel honored to assist families with preserving these items for future generations, and allowing their stories to carry on, and would like to share a recent story from one of our clients.

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