Category: Conservation in the News

Conservation affects many aspects of the world. This category tracks stories about conservation in the media.

A Conservator takes a crack at a Gustave Baumann mystery

Excerpt from http://www.nmhistorymuseum.org/blog/

Artist, printmaker and woodworker Gustave Baumann has a well-deserved “beloved” status in Santa Fe, his home for the final 53 years of his life. The Palace Press at the History Museum re-created his studio, using his original materials, tools and furnishings. The New Mexico Museum of Art owns a number of his prints (some of them on display in an exhibit right now) and the replicas and originals of marionettes he carved for theatrical performances.

So what’s a conservator from Indiana doing here this week prowling around his legacy? She’s trying to solve a couple of lingering mysteries that Baumann left behind.

“We’re going to do a museum exhibit of his prints, drawings and paintings in 2014,” said Claire Hoevel, senior conservator of paper for the Indianapolis Museum of Art, which holds a complete set of prints Baumann made during his youthful stint in that state’s Brown County Art Colony.

“Attached to that exhibit is a huge analytical project to find out exactly what his materials were — pigments, bindings, gessos, the fibers in his papers. Our hope is to gain a very thorough understanding of Baumann and his processes, how he worked, and his enormous accomplishments.”

Thanks to the bottles, cans and jars of materials Baumann left after his 1971 death — materials that are now part of the Palace Press’ exhibit — Hoevel has an opportunity rare in conservator circles. …

Another tale of love and loss and art conservation

Fugitive Blue, by Claire Thomas
Allen and Unwin
2009
A young painting conservator working in a studio in Melbourne, Austalia comes to treat a fifteenth-century panel painted with large quanitities of ultramarine pigment (which makes the title quite bewildering as ultramarine is not a fugitive pigment). As she restores the painting, her fascination with it and its history grows and we learn the story of the painting from its creation until its arrival in Australia after World War II as one of the possessions of a Greek family.
As with many similar novels, there is a love story involving the conservator who has more trouble taking care of her life than works of art.
A sample quote: “I spent so much of time restoring things, trying to reclaim their original beauty. All day, I looked at deteriorating objects with their parts exposed like a person with her heart on the outside. I could touch these paintings, make a decision and watch them transform. Done. But then there was us.”

Recognize Your Colleagues – Nominate them for an Award by December 15th

Please remember that if you would like to nominate a colleague for an AIC award, the deadline is December 15, 2011.Every year, AIC gives out seven different awards to exemplary conservators and other professionals for outstanding and distinguished contributions to the field of conserva­tion, in addition to two awards for organizations that have shown a strong commitment to conservation.  AIC members nominate the candidates for each award, and the winners are selected by the AIC Awards Committee. The Awards are:

Robert L. Feller Lifetime Achievement Award for exceptional contributions to the conservation profession over the course of one’s career

Sheldon and Caroline Keck Award for excellence in the education and training of conservation professionals

Rutherford John Gettens Merit Award for outstanding service to the American Institute for Conservation

Honorary Membership for outstanding contributions to the field of conservation

Conservation Advocacy Award for accomplishments and contributions of conserva­tion professionals who, through substantial efforts in outreach and advocacy, have advanced the field of conservation

AIC Publications Award for excellence in an article, e-publication, or book on conservation

Special Recognition for Allied Professionals for contributions by professionals in other fields in the advancement of the conservation profession

AIC/Heritage Preservation Ross Merrill Award for Outstanding Commitment to the Preservation and Care of Collectionsfor organizations that have been exemplary in the importance and priority they have given to conservation concerns and in the commitment they have shown to the preservation and care of their cultural property

Distinguished Award for Advancement of the Field of Conservation for institutions for vital and long-standing support of professional development activities of conservators

AIC awards are truly special and meaningful to their recipients, especially because they represent peer recognition and distinction. Please take a few minutes to let us know about the colleagues and institutions that deserve recognition for making significant contributions to our field. For more information and application forms, please visit AIC’s website.

Appetite for Art: Restoring Ancient Works With Hungry Bacteria

The frescoes in the Church of Santos Juanes in Valencia, Spain, have been damaged by fire (the Spanish Civil War), glue (botched restoration attempts in the ’60s), and salt blooms (a side effect of pigeon nests). But the 17th-century masterpieces aren’t lost yet. The Polytechnic University of Valencia’s Institute of Heritage Restoration and Centre for Advanced Food Microbiology have joined forces to rejuvenate the priceless works. Tool of choice: bacteria.

The idea is to use the harmless Pseudomonas stutzeri microorganism to clean the works in lieu of toxic chemicals or the jittery hands of restorers. “We grow the bacteria in a culture that has the substrate we want to eliminate,” says Pilar Bosch, a biologist who helped refine the method after studying with the team that cleaned Italy’s Campo Santo di Pisa (neighbor of the Leaning Tower). Effectively trained to eat salt and glue, the bacteria are brushed onto the frescoes and covered with a gel that, when heated with lights, creates humid conditions (perfect for nibbling) and aids cleanup. Just 90 minutes later, the surface is rinsed with water and dried, killing the bacteria. For the Pseudomonas, every masterpiece is the Last Supper.

Bosch and her colleagues have restored a third of Santos Juanes’ frescoes so far. When that’s done, they’ll team with startup Restaura BioTech to explore what other surfaces can be scrubbed by these hungry little technicians. They plan to offer their services to private clients, too—bacteria car wash, anyone?

Reposted from http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/11/st_artrestoremicro/

Grant Funds Conservation of Painting at Hartwick’s Yager Museum

The Yager Museum of Art & Culture at Hartwick College recently received a $7,500 grant from the Conservation Treatment Grant Program of the Greater Hudson Heritage Network to fund the restoration of one important painting.

The Conservation Treatment Grant Program of the Greater Hudson Heritage Network is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency. Fewer than 50 percent of applicants received funding. The grant will allow the museum to restore the one-panel painting titled “The Madonna of the Meadow.”

Read more: http://www.hartwick.edu/news-and-events/yager-grant-madonna-11-17-11

Call for nominations: George Cunha and Susan Swartzburg Preservation Award ALCTS 2012 Preservation Awards

Nominations are being accepted for the 2012 Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS) George Cunha and Susan Swartzburg Preservation Award. ALCTS presents this award to honor individuals whose work represents the finest achievements in research, collaboration, creative work, leadership and service in preservation.

If you are interested in nominating a candidate, contact award jury chair Michele Stricker atmstricker [at] njstatelib__org.

The deadline for nominations and supporting materials is Dec. 1, 2011.

The George Cunha and Susan Swartzburg Preservation Award was established by the Preservation and Reformatting Section (PARS) to honor the memory of George Cunha and Susan Swartzburg, early leaders in cooperative preservation programming and strong advocates for collaboration in the field of preservation.

The award acknowledges and supports cooperative preservation projects and/or rewards individuals or groups that foster collaboration for preservation goals. Recipients of the George Cunha and Susan Swartzburg Award demonstrate vision, endorse cooperation and advocate for the preservation of published and primary source resources that capture the richness of our cultural patrimony.  The award recognizes the leadership and initiative required to build collaborative networks designed to achieve specific preservation goals.  Any person or group is eligible for this award; membership in ALA is not required.    The Cunha/Swartzburg Award is sponsored by Hollinger Metal Edge and includes a $1,250 grant and citation.

Send nominations, including the name of the person or group being nominated; address, phone number and email address of nominee and nominating party; a formal statement of nomination, with rationale for the nomination; resume, vita or extensive narrative career outline upon which the award jury can base its determination; and letters of support and endorsement, to

Michele Stricker, chair
Cunha/Swartzburg Jury
mstricker [at] njstatelib__org

Visit the Cunha Swartzburg page for more information: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alcts/awards/profrecognition/lbicunhaswartz.cfm

An Examination Leads to a Surprising Discovery

When it and four other works by Wassily Kandinsky in the Guggenheim Museum’s collection were sent to the Harvard Art Museums’ laboratory for examination in preparation for an exhibit, “Sketch I For Painting With White Border” (1913) revealed a secret. Underneath Kandinsky’s composition was another composition which had been painted by his lover Gabriele Munter. This discovery may turn out to be but one of many as the Guggenheim is in the process of examining its entire collection– something that will be much more easily facilitated when the Museum’s new conservation laboratory opens in 2012. (from The New York Times, October 23, 2011)

European Union To Provide Funding for Pompeii’s Preservation

According to The New York Times (October 28, 2011), following heavy October rains which led to the collapse of a supporting wall at Pompeii, the European Union pledged 105 million Euros (ca. $148,000) for a four year project to preserve and monitor the site. As the Italian government has long been criticized for not doing enough to maintain the site, this is an encouraging development.

The mystery and intrigue of a manuscript

The Walters Art Museum has just opened an exhibtion which focuses on a 10th century copy of Archimedes’ writings, the parchment of which was scraped and reused for a prayer book in the 13th century. The October 17, 2011 issue of The New York Times contains an exhibit review by Edward Rothstein which plays up the exotic elements of the story ( presenting it as a tale worthy of Dan Brown) while not forgetting to mention the twelve year study of the volume by an international team using the most advanced imaging technology and the treatment by Abigail Quandt, the Walters’ senior conservator of manuscripts.