Paintings

This old Italian devotional panel was one of a set that arrived at The Center with age- and water-related damage, as well as previous restorations that were poorly done (#1). The completed piece is not only improved visibly , but structurally as well (#2). The close-up images presented here depict the piece after the grime and old restorations had been removed (#3), and the piece after the conservators had repainted the losses (#4).

This painting arrived with distortion in the canvas, as is visible on the right side of the painting, and needed a good cleaning, as well (left). The improved color harmony is especially stunning (right).

This painting was in an exceptionally fragile state of fragmentation when it arrived at The Center: it had been damaged in a fire and had severe structural insecurities (#1). The conservation of this piece was lengthy and time-consuming, but its original beauty was eventually restored (#2). The extent of the precarious paint layer is exemplified in this shot of the artist’s signature (#3), while the companion image displays the results of the conservator’s work (#4). The remaining ‘cracks’ are actually craquelure: a natural state for aging paint, and thus untouched by conservators.

This stately painting had the misfortune of falling through a chair, which left some gaping tears in the canvas as well as multiple abrasions (left). The damage was mended and repainted to restore the painting’s former state (right).

The painting shows sign of ‘tenting’, that is, the paint layer lifts upwards, a consequence of a severely shrunk canvas (left). The final result (right) is achieved with the Dutch Method, as laid out in this article.

This piece, owned by Mr. Buck himself, was damaged in a house fire (left). The painting was cleaned and the accretions were removed, but the numerous losses required rather substantial inpainting (right).
 

This family portrait was badly blackened in a house fire(#1), but as the in-treatment photo demonstrates, the damage was entirely superficial (#2). Read more about this treatment here.

This portrait suffered what appears to be a puncture tear (left). Achieving the painting’s finished condition not only required mending the tears (right), but first cleaning it of varnish and grime (center).  Read about the treatment here.

The hallmark of the Spicy Adventure Stories were exotic locales and scantily-clad femme fatales or damsels in distress. This cover’s leading lady seems to be a bit of both, though this was only made obvious with the cleaning of the painting. Read more about this treatment here.

The rust-like accretions that cover this painting were the result of improper packing. Fortunately, although the grime had begun to deteriorate the paint layer, the conservators were able to remove it and stabilize the painting.