Collections Recovery

This past Saturday, approximately twenty people learned all about collections recovery after a disaster (large or small) from three trained conservators. In the course of an afternoon at the Rogers-Green House, the conservators covered preparation, immediate response, stabilization, and assessment of a variety of paintings & painted surfaces.

They also discussed materials for storage & shipping, care & handling, and gave pointers on how to select a conservator. The guest speakers, Brian Baade, Joanne Barry, and Mary McGinn, also looked at damaged works brought in by workshop attendees and offered their opinions on whether their artworks were repairable.

Here, conservator Mary McGinn shows workshop participants what happens when a painting gets wet and is taken off the stretcher: it curls up. If you leave a wet painting on the stretcher or in the frame, it'll stay flat:



Below, Brian Baade explains that a painting is made up of many layers of canvas, sizing, paint, and varnish, so microscopic examination of paint chips is necessary before treatment can begin. A conservator needs to know what he or she is dealing with before determining how to proceed.



Below, McGinn, Barry, and Baade explain that the painting in question is wrinkling because the frame is a little too tight for the painting.