Category: From the Bench Series

From the Bench: Preserving Civil War Artifacts in Cape Fear

This post is part of the “From the Bench” series celebrating the work of conservators. Part scientist, part detective, they work to preserve the past for the future. This series features the voices of conservators who are working on IMLS-supported projects in museums across the United States. For more information about IMLS funding for museums see www.imls.gov/applicants/available_grants.aspx.

By Barbara Rowe, Museum Curator, Cape Fear Museum

Cape Fear Museum of History and Science’s collection includes more than 50,000 artifacts. Our conservation budget is small, and, for a number of years, we sought ways to conserve some of our most fragile and precious items. In 2009 we received, an IMLS Conservation Project Support grant that let us preserve three items: a rare 34-star U.S. flag; Confederate Major-General William Henry Chase Whiting’s dress uniform; and a Confederate second national flag. All three items had been in the museum’s collections for decades (since 1961, the 1890s, and the 1930s respectively) and we knew that they needed to be conserved for future generations.

Conservator working on the 34-star U. S. flag’s canton.
© Cape Fear Museum of History and Science, Wilmington, N.C.

The U.S. flag was donated to the city in 1961 by William Covell’s family. Northern-born Covell left Wilmington after North Carolina decided to secede from the United States. The family story says that his flag was displayed at one of the many meetings held in the city to discuss what to do about the sectional crisis. The flag had tears and weak areas, and the fly end had been folded back and stitched as a means of strengthening the edge.

Major-General Whiting, a West Point graduate and career U.S. army officer sided with the Confederacy during the Civil War, and he commanded the defenses of the Lower Cape Fear region. His uniform’s silk lining was in shreds and needed stabilization in order to be displayed on a mannequin.

The museum’s Confederate flag purportedly flew over Fort Fisher and was captured when the fort was taken by the Union. It traveled north after the war, and was returned to the city by a New York Civil War collector. Like the U.S. flag, the second national flag had tears and weak areas.

The IMLS grant was just the boost we needed; we used it to leverage support within the community. Our city government, several local organizations, and numerous individuals all contributed to the project. We’re also excited to report that we’ve made plans to exhibit the three objects, and that the exhibit Fragments of War, which includes a number of other rarely displayed objects from our Civil War collection, opened October 5, 2012. We could not have displayed the artifacts, even temporarily, without the IMLS grant, and we’re thrilled that we have the chance to put these rare and historically significant artifacts into the public eye during the Civil War’s sesquicentennial.

For more information contact Barbara L. Rowe, Curator, at browe@nhcgov.com, Cape Fear Museum of History and Science, 814 Market Street, Wilmington, NC  28401, www.capefearmuseum.com

 

From the Bench: These Face Lifts Require Heavy Lifting

This post is part of the “From the Bench” series celebrating the work of conservators. Part scientist, part detective, they work to preserve the past for the future. This series features the voices of conservators who are working on IMLS-supported projects in museums across the United States. For more information about IMLS funding for museums see www.imls.gov/applicants/available_grants.aspx.

Judith Levinson, Director of Conservation, American Museum of Natural History, Division of Anthropology

Most of the large and important collection of totem poles at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) has been on display for more than a century!  As decades have passed and other so-called “permanent” exhibitions have come and gone, these silent sentinels have stood near the entrance of the museum’s earliest building as countless visitors, from royal families to millions of school children, have passed by.

About 10 years ago, the anthropology conservation staff surveyed the 77 monumental poles and carvings from the Pacific Northwest in order to prioritize which pieces would benefit the most from conservation. In 2009, thanks to generous funding from IMLS, we were able to begin to work on some of the neediest cases. We started with the smaller figures—those, less than eight feet tall. Some we could de-install and transfer to the lab for treatment; others were too difficult to remove and had to be conserved in-situ working on scissor lifts.

Giant dust bunnies hid in out-of-reach crevices and thousands of splinters needed to be stabilized. We also had to contend with the well-meaning acts of past restorers. Using modern conservation practices and more stable materials, we were able to carefully reverse old restorations and stabilize the degraded surfaces, ensuring that they can be safely cleaned during routine housekeeping with the goal of maintaining them on open display to the public for another hundred years or more.

During the second IMLS-funded phase of the project, we were presented with the unique opportunity to work on the largest totem poles in our Hall of Northwest Coast Indians. The museum was installing a fire-suppression system that required the temporary de-installation of four monumental house posts. These posts had been commissioned for the museum in 1923 and were carved by native artist Arthur Shaughnessy in the remote community of Alert Bay, British Columbia. They were shipped across the continent and had stood in place, unmoved since their arrival.

Lowering each 1200-1500-pound pole was a feat requiring several “nights at the museum” with Marshall Fine Arts rigging company. Aided by a rotating team of trusty conservation interns and students, we set up our temporary lab in the Northwest Coast Hall and began a task as monumental as the posts themselves.

Temporary lab set up in the gallery

http://www.amnh.org/our-research/anthropology/news-events/house-posts-reinstallation

We are currently continuing our work on other needy cases from the hall and plan to disseminate our findings and treatment techniques in conservation publications soon.

 

From the Bench: Conservator of All I Survey

This post is part of the “From the Bench” series celebrating the work of conservators. Part scientist, part detective, they work to preserve the past for the future. This series features the voices of conservators who are working on IMLS-supported projects in museums across the United States. For more information about IMLS funding for museums see www.imls.gov/applicants/available_grants.aspx.

By Gretchen Anderson, Conservator, Carnegie Museum of Natural History

In 2009, I was hired as the sole conservator at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH). I moved from a small museum, the Science Museum of Minnesota, to one of the great natural history museums, housed in a national landmark building and holding over 22 million stellar collections. The most efficient and effective way to determine the future direction conservation should take at CMNH was to conduct a general survey.

CMNH first conducted a general survey in 1989, funded by IMLS. The survey report was used as the foundation for the museum’s first comprehensive long-range conservation plan, a plan that guided conservation efforts for the past 20 years.

This is the second survey that I have been involved in. It was developed in collaboration between museum representatives and a team of expert consultants: Catharine Hawks, Dr. Robert Waller, and LEED Engineers Ernie Conrad and Paul Kreitler from Landmark Facilities Group.

Consultants Rob Waller (left) and Cathy Hawks (right) meet with Invertebrate Zoology Collections Manager Albert Kollar (center).

Phase 1: Planning

I gathered background documents from staff and conducted an in-house review of environmental conditions and monitoring methodology.

Phase 2: Site Visit

The objective was to provide consultants the opportunity to assess the buildings and collections and interview stakeholders. The consultant team was on site for six days. We had to tour three buildings, looking at both the public areas and behind the scenes, such as collections storage and workrooms, mechanical rooms, and attics. We met with staff from curatorial sections, administration, facilities, events, and exhibits. This was by far the most intense and enjoyable part of the project.

Phase 3:  Collaborative Analysis and Strategy Development

The task was to develop workable strategies to reduce the risk to collections. This took the longest and was the most difficult phase. We spent a great deal of time writing and editing the survey results so that the report spoke with one voice. There was a lot of discussion between the consultants on specific issues, such as reasonable environmental conditions

Consultant team views the attic space and notes the glass ceiling.

Phase 4: Final Report  

The final product ended up being a very thorough report that identifies the risks to the collections and prioritizes these risks for future care. Strategies for addressing improvements are recommended. The report is being used as the foundation for a detailed long-range conservation plan and a planning tool for administration.

This survey allowed me, as a new conservator at the institution, to learn who the main players are, and build relationships with my museum colleagues who can help me move collections preservation strategies forward.  As a result of the grant we now have a new long-range preservation plan which will guide our conservation and activities for years to come.

 

From the Bench: Seattle Art Museum’s Delicate Asian Screens Rehoused for Access and Preservation

This post is part of the “From the Bench” series celebrating the work of conservators. Part scientist, part detective, they work to preserve the past for the future. This series features the voices of conservators who are working on IMLS-supported projects in museums across the United States. For more information about IMLS funding for museums see www.imls.gov/applicants/available_grants.aspx.

Nicholas Dorman, Chief Conservator, Seattle Art Museum

A busy display and scholarly research schedule in an historic museum building can pose challenges for long-term care of fragile works of art. Preserving our important collection of Asian screens and ensuring safe access to them were two critical priorities for me and my colleagues at the Seattle Asian Art Museum. We had made do with artfully cobbled-together bins and antiquated metal cabinets for a number of years but this was not suitable storage for a great and growing collection of these delicate treasures. A grant from IMLS enabled us to bring our collections-care practices to optimal standards.

Custom designed cabinets provide safe and stable storage for delicate Asian screens.

Working with a local vendor, we designed and installed a suite of screen cabinets that provide a safe and stable storage environment for the paintings. The furniture is beautifully made and will be very durable. The screens are strapped to sliding shelves within new bespoke archival boxes. The design reduces risk to the art and to the art handlers’ backs and greatly enhances safe access. Since the relative humidity can be passively managed with conditioning gel, the cabinets provide an excellent additional layer of buffering to protect the screens from environmental fluctuations. Another terrific legacy of this grant was that it gave us an opportunity to fully survey the condition of the screens. The resulting condition record and photographs will have a lasting impact as we define treatment priorities over time.

Support from IMLS was absolutely crucial for the realization of the project. It helped us to garner complementary local support and allowed us to show that the project had passed the highest-level process of review and evaluation, which was vital for the credibility of this and related storage projects. This is one of only a few programs that help museums to fund slightly less glamorous back of house development, yet it is these quiet projects that have, perhaps, the greatest impact on the works of art that we leave behind for our grandchildren to enjoy.

You can read more about our IMLS-supported screen storage project at:

http://samblog.seattleartmuseum.org/archives/3754

and about the Seattle Art Museum’s general conservation activities at:

http://www.seattleartmuseum.org/collection/conservation

From the Bench: Making Things Amber Clear

This post is part of the “From the Bench” series celebrating the work of conservators. Part scientist, part detective, they work to preserve the past for the future. This series features the voices of conservators who are working on IMLS-supported projects in museums across the United States. For more information about IMLS funding for museums see www.imls.gov/applicants/available_grants.aspx.

Elizabeth Nunan, Associate Conservator, Natural Science Collections, American Museum of Natural History

With funding from the IMLS Conservation Project Support grant program, the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) conservators and fossil preparators have spent the past 12 months treating and documenting the museum’s unique and global collection of fossils in amber. The AMNH amber collection is one of the world’s largest, most diverse, and scientifically significant with nearly 17,000 pieces containing well over 25,000 inclusions of insects and other ancient life forms. When exposed to ambient conditions, such as light, temperature, and relative humidity, amber darkens, and over time microscopic cracks can form on exposed surfaces. In severe cases, this network of cracks, or crazing, can completely mask the inclusion, and large fractures can extend through their bodies. Without treatment, the amber can break or crumble, exposing the inclusions to further deterioration and making the specimen unsafe to handle or study. The IMLS Amber Fossil Conservation project was designed to stabilize all of the most scientifically important and some of the most deteriorated pieces in this collection so they can be safely stored, handled, and preserved for future research and exhibition. Of particular concern was treatment of the scientifically important type specimens – the first specimen to which the scientific name of an organism is attached.

To prevent the darkening and crazing that obscures and damages inclusions each amber type specimen is treated with Epo-Tek 301-2 epoxy,  either by coating exposed surfaces or embedding whole pieces under vacuum.  Embedding the amber in epoxy stabilizes the specimen by infiltrating the cracks, and making it less likely to break during trimming and polishing. One of the key benefits of such preparation is that researchers can get much closer to the inclusion and gain clearer views of important characteristics, without risking breakage or internal cracking. Many fossil insect specimens in amber could never have been properly studied without this process.

Before and after images show how treatment minimized cracks and crazing in the amber

This project has helped ensure the preservation and overall accessibility of the museum’s priceless amber collections for the benefit of generations to come. In addition, the AMNH has already shared lessons learned and procedures developed with other institutions through publications and lectures at professional conferences such as the Society for Preservation of Natural History Collections, the International Paleoentomological Society, the Paleontological Society of India, and the University of Lucknow, India.

From the Bench: Preservation of Art Objects Help Restore Historic Halls to Past Splendor

This post is part of the “From the Bench” series celebrating the work of conservators. Part scientist, part detective, part artisan, part caretaker, a conservator works to preserve the past for the future. This series features the voices of conservators who are working on IMLS-supported projects in museums across the United States. For more information about IMLS funding for museums see www.imls.gov/applicants/available_grants.aspx.

 Valentine Talland, Senior Conservator, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum received a Conservation Project Support grant from IMLS in 2009 to conserve objects that were the highest priorities for preservation in two important galleries: the Titian Room and the Tapestry Room. The Gardner was engaged in a major capital preservation project, concluded in 2012, with two objectives: first, the systematic preservation of whole galleries, including the conservation of art objects and the restoration of architectural finishes; and second, the construction of an addition to the building to relieve wear and tear on the museum’s historic interiors and to house expanding museum programs. The Titian and Tapestry rooms were central to these goals as well as to enhancing the visitor experience and education programs at the Gardner. Generous support from IMLS provided for the following conservation treatments:

  1. Ten side chairs upholstered in 18th-century painted and gilded leather. Six of these chairs are positioned in the center of the Tapestry Room where visitor traffic is relatively high. These chairs were reupholstered with handmade leather, reproducing the original colors and design (called Corfus). The de-upholstered original leather coverings were stabilized, cleaned, and safely housed for study and storage. Four of these chairs are exhibited out of visitor traffic; their original upholstery was cleaned, conserved, and retained on the chairs.
  2. Bust of a Venetian Senator. This monumental marble sculpture was cleaned using the Gardner’s laser cleaner. It was remounted on a structural stainless steel pin. Prior to its reinstallation in the Titian Room, its gallery mount was re-engineered to safely support the sculpture’s weight.
  3. King Philip IV of Spain, by Velázquez, and frame. A complete conservation treatment and investigative analysis of the painting was carried out. This included X-radiography and comparative study with versions in the Prado and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The frame, originally from a suite at Kingston Lacey, was consolidated, cleaned and retouched.
  4. Namban Chest. This rare early Japanese lacquer chest was stabilized and cleaned. Treatment revealed original graphite scribe lines and brilliant mother-of pearl inlays. X-ray fluorescence analysis confirmed gilding on the silver mounts.

For more information on the Renzo Piano-designed addition to the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum and restoration of the Tapestry Room visit:

http://www.buildingproject.gardnermuseum.org/vision/tapestry-room-restoration

http://www.gardnermuseum.org/multimedia/featured_video?filter=4372

Stories of Success: A Collaborative Survey Shines Fresh Light on Korean Paintings

This post is part of the “From the Bench” series celebrating the work of conservators. Part scientist, part detective, part artisan, part caretaker, a conservator works to preserve the past for the future. This series features the voices of conservators who are working on IMLS-supported projects in museums across the United States. For more information about IMLS funding for museums see www.imls.gov/applicants/available_grants.aspx.

By Katherine Holbrow, Head of Conservation, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CA

Shared expertise plays an essential role in good collections care. In Spring 2012, valuable support from IMLS enabled the Asian Art Museum to bring together an interdisciplinary team of experts to carry out a conservation survey of rare Korean paintings.

Korean paintings conservator Chi-sun Park and her assistant, Eun-Hye Cho, of Jung-Jae Conservation Center in Seoul, Korea, collaborated with Asian Art Museum conservators, curators, and translators to examine hanging scrolls, albums, and screens dating from the 14th to 19thcenturies. The team examined each painting, then identified conservation and curatorial priorities, evaluated scroll and album mounts, and discussed treatment alternatives.

Left to right: Asian Art Museum director Jay Xu, visiting conservator Chi-Sun Park, associate curator Hyonjeong Kim Han, and paintings conservator Shiho Sasaki discuss a Joseon dynasty painting.
Did you know that due to a tradition of under-floor heating, Korean folding screens typically have feet? Above, Chi-sun Park examines a Korean painting mounted as a folding screen. The mount uses a mixture of Korean and Japanese elements.

The project quickly grew beyond an assessment of treatment needs, sparking stimulating discussions of the broader ethical and aesthetic questions that surround the remounting of Korean paintings, including the following:

  • What characteristics do Korean mounts share with Chinese or Japanese mounts?
  • What elements are unique to Korea?
  • How can the mounts help tell the history of our paintings?

 Good conservation decisions require a cultural sensitivity to fine detail and a clear grasp of such abstract questions, even if there is more than one right answer!

This lively debate, along with explanations of common types of scroll damage, strategies to extend the life of a painting mount, and repair options, was shared with senior docents and museum visitors in publications, tours, and lectures. Read more about the Korean paintings project on the Asian Art Museum website.

From the Bench: Rehoused Instrument Collection Is Once Again Instrumental

This post is part of the “From the Bench” series celebrating the work of conservators. Part scientist, part detective, part artisan, part caretaker, a conservator works to preserve the past for the future. This series features the voices of conservators who are working on IMLS-supported projects in museums across the United States. For more information about IMLS funding for museums see www.imls.gov/applicants/available_grants.aspx.

By Catherine Sease, Senior Conservator, Peabody Museum of Natural History

             The Yale Peabody Museum’s collection of historical scientific instruments consists of approximately 4,000 instruments from a variety of scientific disciplines. Despite its significance, the collection has been completely inaccessible since 1991. At that time, due to the planned demolition of the building in which it was stored, the collection was packed up and, due to a lack of storage space, remained packed up until 2011. Over the years the boxes were extensively stacked and restacked and were moved at least three times, including the most recent move over seven miles. They have been stored in areas with uncontrolled climatic conditions, and have been exposed to drastic fluctuations in temperature and relative humidity as well as minor leaks and floods. These are all conditions that could easily cause the deterioration of the instruments.

             Because they were packed up, the instruments were unavailable for study, teaching, and exhibition. Their inaccessibility was further compromised by the inaccuracy of the catalog record. We knew that the catalog contained numerous errors; for example at least two percent of the collection was listed as missing. In addition, many instruments had accessories and parts that were not catalogued and some were packed separately from their primary instrument.

             Our IMLS-funded project enabled us to unpack the entire collection and rehouse it in new high-quality storage cabinets in a storeroom with climate control suitable for the long-term preservation of the collection. As each instrument was unpacked, the museum’s catalog was checked to verify that the description was accurate and all the pieces were present. Many were also photographed and the pictures were uploaded into the database. We now have a complete inventory of the entire collection on the museum’s database that is available to anyone with access to the Internet. The instruments are now spread out so that students and researchers can easily browse through the collection and see the instruments without touching them. They are now readily available for teaching and exhibit. Even though the project is not quite finished, we have already had requests for the loan of instruments for exhibits and professors are using instruments in their classes.

From the Bench: New Discoveries from What Lies Beneath

This post is part of the “From the Bench” series celebrating the work of conservators. Part scientist, part detective, part artisan, part caretaker, they work to preserve the past for the future. This series features the voices of conservators who are working on IMLS-supported projects in museums across the United States. For more information about IMLS funding for museums see www.imls.gov/applicants/available_grants.aspx.

By Nancie Ravenel, Objects Conservator, Shelburne Museum

While there are two conservators on staff at Shelburne Museum to take care of its day-to-day conservation needs, some projects within the museum’s diverse collection require the talents of a specialized conservator. With funding from IMLS in 2010, we were able to hire paintings conservator Pamela Betts for 17 months to examine and treat a selection of paintings from the 50 best in our collection. In the course of her examinations, Pam made some very interesting discoveries. Here are a few:

  • A portrait of a woman hidden beneath a still life depicting oysters and a glass of ale painted sometime between 1855-1870 by Charles D. Sauerwein  revealed in an x-radiograph.
  • An x-radiograph showed that Henry Durrie had included his hands and maybe an artist’s palette in his self-portrait painted 1830-1839, but they were later painted out.
  • The local hospital that helps us out with the x-rays archives the digital radiographs that they take of the objects in our collection. Their radiological technologists know the paintings by their radiographs but may not know what they look like on the wall!
  • Using two different methods of infrared photography, Pam documented compositional changes that Jasper F. Cropsey made to his 1844 landscape painting depicting Greenwood Lake.
  • We found that it is possible to get reasonable infrared images of painting underdrawings by putting the appropriate filter on our digital camera. Expensive equipment isn’t always required.
  • The ornate Rococo-style frame on Rembrandt Peale’s Girl with a Tuscan Hat is at least the same period as the painting if it is not original to it.

Paintings conservator Pamela Betts (right) discusses her progress on William Merritt Chase’s portrait of General James Watson Webb (1880, collection of Shelburne Museum) with curatorial fellow Erin Corrales-Diaz.

Since 1986, Shelburne Museum has had the honor of being awarded 16 Conservation Project Support grants. These have run the gamut of the activities supported:

  • improving environmental systems and storage furniture
  • conservation surveys and treatment
  • training both for new conservators and the conservators on staff

The common tie among the projects is that grants from IMLS have allowed us to innovate and collaborate in ways that would not have been otherwise possible and confer benefits for years after the project is complete. We’re excited to be able to share these discoveries with our visitors, especially those radiological technologists from the hospital who learn about the paintings in Shelburne Museum’s collection through their x-rays.

From the Bench: Literally Hanging by a Thread

This post is part of the “From the Bench” series celebrating the work of conservators.  Part scientist, part detective, conservators work to preserve the past for the future.  This series features the voices of conservators who are working on IMLS supported projects in museums across the United States.  For more information about IMLS funding for museums visit www.imls.gov/applicants/available_grants.aspx.

By Meg Loew Craft, Senior Objects Conservator, Walters Art Museum

The Walters Art Museum was delighted to receive a bequest of over 165 Southeast Asian works of art from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation in 2002. The objects complement and enhance the Walters’ Asian collection, which is focused on the arts from China and Japan. This diverse gift includes manuscripts and manuscript cabinets, lacquer Buddha sculptures, painted textile banners, ivory seals, and porcelain teapots, to name a few.

The new collection was stored in a climate-controlled, secure facility, but it was offsite, which made the art works difficult to access, study, examine, and integrate into museum programming. A grant from IMLS permitted us to gain access to the Duke objects, examine each piece individually for treatment and storage needs, and correlate curatorial and conservation priorities. A symposium was held that brought Southeast Asian scholars and conservators together to discuss the Duke Collection. Focusing attention on the collection has enabled rehousing of two-thirds of the collection into onsite museum storage and encouraged creative thinking on how to incorporate the Duke objects into current and future exhibition galleries.

A new fire suppression system slated for installation in Hackerman House, our mid-1860s historic building housing Asian art, will necessitate moving the artwork out of the galleries in the near future. This is an opportunity to treat and put some of the larger sculptures and paintings on display in the museum. Information from the survey is being used to help refigure the displays for reinstallation. This is especially significant for eight to ten sculptures and paintings that are too large to fit in our in-house storage area.

Burmese sculpture of Buddhist adorant. Photo courtesy of Walters Art Museum. Accession number 25.240.
Burmese sculpture of Buddhist adorant. Photo courtesy of Walters Art Museum. Accession number 25.240.

This Burmese sculpture of a Buddhist adorant, has been examined during the IMLS survey, given the highest priority by both curators and conservators, and will be treated this fall. The carved wood adorant is covered with lacquer and heavily decorated with gold leaf and glass mirror inlays. The jewelry and flames made of leather similarly adorned are the weakest elements. The leather is water-damaged, distorted and brittle. The cracked leather has been crudely repaired – it is literally hanging by a thread.

Back view shows the broken belt. Photo courtesy of Walters Art Museum. Accession number 25.240.
Back view shows the broken belt. Photo courtesy of Walters Art Museum. Accession number 25.240.

Without the support of IMLS, attention would not have been focused on the Duke Collection. The survey has generated excitement and exposure for these treasures. We anticipate bringing these objects to light with continuing research, online digital images, chats in the conservation window, and display in the galleries – thanks to IMLS.