Picked this up today at GW. I believe it’s a reproduction of Return of the Prodigal son. The back seems to be missing? Replaced? But the nails are still in it. Anyway, was curious if it’s okay to hang like this or if I should get it reframed?
On the night of August 15, an as-yet-unidentified gang of thieves stole Antonello da Messina's Polyptych of San Gregorio and a double-sided panel depicting the Madonna and the Pietà, also attributed to the artist, both housed at the Regional Interdisciplinary Museum of Messina. The works, of inestimable artistic value and worth several tens of millions of euros, were removed from their supports, and the armored case protecting the panel was forced open.
Everything suggests a heist meticulously planned by a gang of experts, yet it remains unclear why two of the works were abandoned on a low outer wall of the museum during the getaway: the two polyptych panels depicting Saint Benedict and Saint Gregory the Great. These very works, spared by the thieves, could potentially contain clues useful for identifying them, and investigators are not ruling out any lead at this time.
The theft has further heightened attention on the issue of museum security, given that it emerged that, despite the alarm going off and the video surveillance system capturing the theft as it unfolded, the four security guards present at the site noticed nothing until a passerby reported having found the Antonello da Messina works propped against the low wall outside the museum.
Hello - I have an oil painting from 1958 which was dropped and has detached party from its stretcher and has lost tension. I am sure this is not a valuable piece of art. Can anybody guide me on what I could do to repair? What would a conservator charge to re stabilize on the stretcher?
Hi all — fellow museum professional here, although conservation isn’t my specialty.
I’m living the roommate life in NYC in a third-floor walk-up in a circa-1910 building with no central air. It’s a pretty modest apartment, and I have a small collection of things I care about: some relatively rare 20th-century books (paperback and hardcover), a valuable print currently stored in a portfolio, and a small but valuable drawing (crayon on linen, stretched on a fairly basic wooden stretcher).
The issue is that my roommate expects me to turn off my window AC whenever I leave for the office. So while I’m gone, there would be essentially no consistently cool area in the apartment. I can turn it back on when I get home, but the temperature and humidity presumably fluctuate throughout the day.
I’m wondering how concerned I should actually be about this from a conservation standpoint.
Are these kinds of objects meaningfully at risk from the summer heat/humidity and daily fluctuations in a NYC apartment, or is keeping the AC running continuously mostly overkill unless the humidity gets particularly high?
And, perhaps more importantly, what is the realistic worst-case scenario? Are we talking about accelerated long-term deterioration, cockling/warping, mold risk, etc., or is the occasional/seasonal temperature swing unlikely to make much practical difference?
I realize museum-standard environmental conditions aren’t realistic in a budget NYC apartment. I’m mostly trying to figure out whether this is something worth actually holding my ground over with the roommate, or whether I’m worrying unnecessarily.
Also, I don’t currently have an environmental data logger, but I’m happy to get one if that’s the obvious first step. And if you read this far, thank you! :-)
I have a couple of pieces of art that I'm interested in investigating for fun; oil on canvas and oil on board.
I'm curious about what I could pull off with normal consumer-level equipment.
Question 1: If I picked up a full spectrum modified digital camera and a filter that was 950 or 1000 nm, would I be able to reveal anything worthwhile? Reworked areas? Preliminary sketches?
Question 2: I know you want to really hit the pieces with light. Does it matter what type of light e.g. fluorescent, halogen, yada yada yada? Would shining a light from the back of the canvas help at all? Or should you only light from the front?
Question 3: Will there be a difference between what is revealed between the canvas works and the boards? I assume so, but have no clue.
I'm aware that you have to do some processing work in photoshop as well on the IR photos, but that's not really an issue at the moment. I just don't want to waste my time and a couple hundred dollars if I can't get anywhere with consumer tech.
So can anyone answer those questions, give me some tips, or point me in the right direction to learn more about the process?
Hello!
15 years ago on a trip to China, I purchased a traditional paper cutting, and mounted it in a frame when I returned. Once a vivid red, the colour has really faded, and I would like to restore it. The paper is really delicate, and has almost a tissue paper/crepe paper like texture. I am worried that I might damage it. Has anyone done this before? Or would anyone have any suggestions?
Thank you!
Hii im a senior and next year im going to apply to unis in france. Im planning on applying to fine arts/ art unis but im not sure if a FA diploma would make me employable for a wide range of jobs (in the art field ofc). Is studying art history& archeology a better idea? or is a fine arts degree + masters in art history enough?
Thank you for any help!!
We are trying to save artist Justin Green's work that was hand painted on our storefront a few decades ago. A vandal threw a brick through one side, but since it wasn't safety glass, the glass replacement people (shout out to Ryan's All Glass in Cincinnati) were able to cut out and preserve the art before boarding up that side. There is some question that the other (unbroken) pane is safety glass and that cutting the glass won't be possible. We had tried donating the entire glass panes to a local museum, but they weren't able to take it due to sheer size of the glass. I was hoping that since we had cut down the one side, we'd be able to do the same for the other and then could just donate the glass with the artwork on it. I'm concerned we'll be back to square one with the huge unbroken pane.
Any ideas on how we can preserve the art on the safety glass?
This painting was a protest against the millions of plastic freebies distributed in children's comics. I used plastic toys depicting extinct (and nearly extinct) animals for obvious reasons. (The painting was exhibited and sold from the Harley Gallery.)
Hej jestem w maturalnej klasie szkoły plastycznej , bardzo mnie ciągnie do konserwacji jednak bo zrobieniu reaserchu w internecie okazuje sie , że bardzo ciężko jest dostać dobrze płatną i stałą prace w tej dziedzinie w Polsce. Czy to prawda? Chciałabym aby ktoś na studiach/praktykach lub konserwator doradził czy to opłacalne i czy warte zachodu.
Pytałam także doświadczonego konserwatora , który mówił że jeśli umiesz się wybić na rynku to bez problemu sobie poradzisz, a jeśli nie będziesz charować za grosze co mjie trochę w pewien sposób przeraziło.. Bardzo proszę o odpowiedzi.
My parents recently gave me this portrait of me from the mid-80s that was collecting dust in their basement. It was painted by one of my dad’s patients back when we lived in Iran. I obviously want to hang it up somewhere in our house since it’s awesome.
There seems to be some sort of protective varnish covering everything except 1/4” from each edge. Do I need to have it treated, framed inside glass or otherwise protected to keep it from deteriorating?
I'm looking at buying a piece of art from the early 1950s that appears to be on very thin paper. I don't know specifically what it is. It's painted with tempera. what I'm assuming is gouache, but I'm also not sure about that. It does not look like oil or acrylic, and it's not watercolor. It has the more flat/matte appearance of gouache.
The paper is described as "tissue paper" by the auction place and it's quite brown. It also appears to be wrinkled/rippled across the surface. I'm not sure if that happened over time or if it's from the paint drying on thin paper.
The art is framed so I can't see what the backing or other framing materials are. If I buy it I'll have a local conservator open it up.
Is there any chance this paper could be somewhat restored without damaging the paint? I'm guessing this is hard to answer without more details, but are there cases where paper browning can be reversed?
My dad painted an acrylic portrait of my son when my boy was 9, holding our puppy. The family loved the portrait. A few years later, my dad updated it and painted over it. I gasped when I saw it... the open free expression on the face was gone, the figure was taller, the colors were paler. Even the dog looked less cute.
My dad passed three years ago, and we are just now divvying up the art. Neither me nor my daughter can bear to take this version....
Is there any way I can take off the revision? I may have seen too many art restoration videos and heard too many "there was a Renoir underneath this landscape I bought at a yard sale," but what do you think? What would i even use?
Hi there, I'm writing a screenplay with a character who is a final-year conservation student specializing in paintings and paper.
I don't have a background in art conservation, and I'm trying to avoid giving her generic "art expert" monologue.
I'd love to hear from actual conservators or conservation students. So:
There's a morning scene where she's going through old sheets of paper before study/exam. She's tired and half-muttering to herself, trying to remember something important. I'm specifically looking for something less obvious than basic terminology. I don't want her to sound like she's reciting a textbook or like the writer googled "art conservation terms."
For someone at the end of their degree:
What kind of things might she be trying to recall before an exam or any other kind of important task at study? What might she mutter under her breath while looking through old notes: perhaps half a sentence, a list, a correction to herself, or a "wait, no..." moment, maybe? She needs to be really concentrated.
Thank you in advance!
I got this poster in Paris from a worker who had installed it incorrectly. There is adhesive on the back, and the front has pretty severe creases in it. A few minutes with a heat gun helped a little, but the creases are still pretty bad. Does anyone know who does restoration of vinyl? The poster is about 2 meters tall by 1.2 m wide.
Hello!
I’ve been doing some research into becoming a conservator and I have seen some great advice such as getting an undergraduate degree in chemistry and art history. Here’s my question: is it better to major in chemistry and minor in art/art history, or the other way around?
Also, if I maybe wanted to focus on antique jewelry, what would be a good path for that?
Please let me know! Thanks!
