How I Got To Restore Art For The Most Famous Man In The World

What is even more interesting is that this unlikely connection was made at the beggining of my carreer y first private client was the family estate of the most famous man in the world and it was the beginning of working with people long distance By Scott M. Haskins   This blog post has been syndicated at ExpertClick.com. What does it mean that this article is “ syndicated”? See details at end of this blog post. Posted on July 8, 2023 about a look-back at events of 1977-78

As I write this and post it, I am in Florence, Italy looking over a job for the US Consulate/Embassy who are concerned about cracks in affrescoes in the historical building where the Consulate is located, poor quality previous restorations, removing repainting over historical paintings and design details. Its been 45 years since I finished my upper division studies in painting conservation here in Italy and I have been thinking about some of the circumstances that got me started in my profession. Let me tell you about three foundational experiences that proved to be important for my future and that will tweek your interest if you are into art, historic preservation, art restoration, Italy etc… and a good story. I’m often asked how I got started. So, here I am in 1977  (45 years ago)…

I was approaching the end of my three-year master’s degree level, fine art conservation program (1978) at a Lombardy Regional satellite center of the Istituto Centrale di Restauro in Rome. In addition, I considered my efforts to experience “extracurricular work” a supplement to my formal program work, which, justifiably, was not production oriented and was very slow paced. In an attempt to see a balanced picture of the art conservation profession, I had applied and been hired at a local “hack shop” restoration bottega, where they were specialized in quick, cheap work and low prices. It seemed Sig. Bertoldi liked me but given my newly acquired academic and professional practical skills, I was not as quick to complete tasks as he wanted, and I refused to clean paintings with a mop, figuratively speaking. His techniques and speed at cleaning paintings, especially 19th century art, often resulted in extensive damage to the painting’s original paint layers in the process, and then his shop just re-painted… it was a good education about “the other side of the tracks.” Soon after the employment with Signor Bertoldi ended, a coworker from the bottega referred a client to me for work to be done on my own. I felt ready to “give it” a try. It seemed my friend from the bottega must have said some kind things about me because my new client, Mr. Montini did not seem uneasy about working with me. I thought it was interesting that, even though he lived outside of town that he would drive an hour on a two-lane country road to come and see me… and he didn’t seem too bothered to do it again to pick up his restored item when I was finished. He was obviously very pleased with my work, and maybe that helped him justify the travel time and effort. He then, enthusiastically, invited me to come to his house and look over some other things that could be restored. So, my first private transaction was a big success. Now it was my turn to negotiate the two-lane country road, up a valley and through small towns just north of Brescia, Italy. The Valletrompia today may be one of the areas of Italy with the highest per capita income due to the numerous cottage industries of international renown. It has had an active population consisting of many towns since at least medieval times and was probably in an active transit corridor during Roman times. Within the year, I would be coming up this road again to undertake a project on behalf of my formal art conservation training program. At the top end of the pre-alpine valley is the town Lumezzane, and in the Romanesque-turned-Renaissance parish Church, I was given an affresco to work on as part of my master’s degree final exam.

But a ways before the end of the valley is the small, sleepy, poorly lit, non-descript town of Concesio. It was late in the afternoon before I arrived, and it was suggested that I arrive before it gets dark, or I would never find my way around town (decades before GPS was invented). The detailed directions brought me to a large unlit residential compound, that was the only construction on its side of the street and left little room for a sidewalk along the narrow street with its 3 story wall and the huge front door, all very plain and very old…  I was thinking, probably at least 300 years old. Although, big, exclusive, and ancient, it was not at all architecturally or artistically noteworthy. In fact, everything could’ve used a cleaning and some fresh paint.

Mr. Montini, himself, answered the front door with a smile and a handshake, dressed as before, in well used, casual clothing, and welcomed me inside.  I walked into the predictably cold interior of the huge, cavernous, dimly lit, poorly heated, rooms. My previously restored item had a place of honor in the huge hallway by the front door. Perhaps that was its downfall as the cleaning lady kept this area, looking better than the rest of the house, and had accidentally knocked it to the floor. Mr. Montini was very nice and made several nice comments and noted my work as we walked by. As soon as I entered the house, I already had a broken neck noting everywhere, practically, that the walls were full of framed paintings and textiles. The artwork was displayed, hung gallery style, from the baseboard to the crown molding on absolutely every wall of the house and the ceilings had affrescoes.  The paintings were hung only inches apart and covered completely the 10-15 foot walls of the hallways, large rooms and every room and passageway that I could see as we passed. They even covered the walls of the bathroom I visited. I’m not exaggerating when I say that there were literally thousands of paintings small to very large (today, the residence has been made into a memorial and museum and appears MUCH different than when I visited). Mr. Montini of course, was not trying to impress me, nor satisfy my kid in the candy store look on my face. He was nice and conversational, but he did not seem to know a lot about the artwork or furnishings and made no effort to turn on special lights to show better the art as collectors like to do when they have visitors. After we got past “the pleasantries” and he got to know me a little better, he divulged that I was sitting in the family estate of the ancient and powerful Montini family and the childhood home of Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, the present/current day most famous man in the world… Pope Saint Paul VI, presently, at that time, in authority in the Vatican.

The Mr. Montini in front of me, was a cousin, and had been appointed by the family as the caretaker of the estate. He told me all this matter of factually with no flair or need of recognition. In fact, I had the sense that the whole thing bored him terribly! It was a nice visit, and when it was over, I left the house with a darkly painted 18th century oval portrait of an ancestor count or duke or something or other. Thinking back on that project portrait he gave me, it was probably a test, once again, to see the quality of my work. While the work on the painting was fairly straightforward visually, oval portraits can sometimes be tricky when doing structural work.

Apparently, I passed my test with flying colors and he was enthusiastic about the results of the painting conservation treatments when I delivered his painting on my second visit. We sat and had cookies and hot chocolate, while I was encouraged to tell my story, and he enjoyed inquiring about my opinions about how to resolve the problems of the world. But we did not talk about art! I guess by this time I was fully vetted and my work appeared to him to be of high enough quality that he enjoyed the expression on my face when he consigned to me a 4’ x 2’ painting on canvas of a male clothed figure painted in the mid 1500’s by Paolo Veronese (I think he told me that someone in the family bought it directly from the artist! It looks stylistically as if it came from the planning of San Sebastiano in Venice)

Wow. I thought it strange, though, that despite the fame and value of the painting he gave to me to work on, he never checked in on me, or asked to visit me during the couple of months it took me to return the work to him. Also, interesting to me was the trust that he gave my professional opinion about what needed to be done and without question, agreed to everything I suggested. And that was the beginning of working autonomously in my new profession of art conservation. It was 100% a positive experience and a good start. If this is your first time on this blog, poke around to see other interesting articles, videos, testimonials. There are pull down menus under the rotating photos in the header of the website. Please leave this article a "thumbs up" at the top of the page and a comment at the bottom of the page. Thanks! Want to know more about Fine Art Conservation Laboratories today? Our firm, Fine Art Conservation Laboratories (FACL, Inc.) is called in often to clean, preserve, restore and even remove and reinstall murals, treat water damage on paintings, stop and preserve paintings with flaking, repair rips, stop cracking and much more For general mural conservation capabilities videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ld4l6EG8T-I&index=13&list=PLE1FF71CC598A8E79 For our mural capability statement: http://www.fineartconservationlab.com/mural/ For our mural consultation statement: http://www.fineartconservationlab.com/consultations/ Our mural conservation videos on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE1FF71CC598A8E79 If you have questions, call:  Scott M. Haskins 805 570 4140    faclartdoc@gmail.com  Or Virginia Panizzon, Veteran Art Conservator 805 564 3438 office p.s.  If you would like to know more about what you can do to protect and preserve your original family history items, collectibles and memorabilia click on this link for a free copy of Scott M. Haskins book Save Your Stuff – Collection Care Tips, 210 pages with 35 embedded how-to videos. p.s.s. CLICK HERE for our YouTube channel - Subscribe!  See quick video on Discovering Hidden Signatures on Paintings! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxOqa-Aa9Nk This blog post has been syndicated at ExpertClick.com. What does it mean that this article is “ syndicated”?  It's a bit of a coup to get an article syndicated, and its certainly prestigious, as additional "proof" that the info and the author are considered far and wide authoritative and an expert in the field. So, enjoy and trust our content!! This article was syndicated for USA national redistribution. When something is published, usually by a news source, and is made available through different venues for redistribution then it is said to be syndicated. Publications that are syndicated are usually considered of value as being from an expert, educational, newsworthy or valuable for wide popular interest. See syndication page at the renowned publicity site: https://www.expertclick.com This website's syndication included: 1) Included in the ExpertClick Press Room as a ‘press release.’ (different than a ‘news release’) 2) Included in the ‘Speaker Bureau Platform Page.’ 3) Shown on the front page of ExpertClick, in rotation with other most recent posts. 4) Shown in the ‘News Release Results page.’ 5) Included on optimized for searches on all my topics of expertise. 6) Shown via RSS linked from the Press Room. (A specific way news is actively distributed within the industry) 7) Shown in the full RSS feed from ExpertClick. (Another, different specific way news is actively distributed within the industry) 8) Syndicated to LexisNexis.com As of 2006, the company had the world's largest electronic database for legal and public-records related information, distributor of academic content and expert opinion. This article has been syndicated at https://www.expertclick.com

Gorgeous Gilded Age Society Painting Dented by Freak Accident Art Restoration

This video entertains you with a story about surprising impact damage on 19th century paintings of high society fashion with some tips on condition from an art conservator. See several paintings of gorgeous women in The Gilded Age Society, paintings by the French-Italian Master Artist Frederic Soulacroix.

    

Call us for a pleasant chat about your art restoration questions: 805 564 3438 Scott M. Haskins, Oriana Montemurro, Virginia Panizzon Art Conservators.

Click here for our blog/website: http://www.FineArtConservationLab.com

Click here for our YouTube channel: http://www.YouTube.com/bestartdoc

Ripped Oil Painting Art Restoration Ventura, Thousand Oaks Testimonial

A treasured painting, a memory of early years, was ripped when a ladder went though the middle of the painting creating an ugly rip. Referred by a local museum, she called Fine Art Conservation Laboratories 805 564 3438 faclartdoc@gmail.com

Art conservators/restorers Scott M. Haskins, Virginia Panizzon

Leave a comment!

Have questions and want to chat? Call us. Click on the link to see a short video tour of the lab.

Monday - Friday 9-5

Art Restoration, Painting Conservation, Art Conservation, Repair Art Los Angeles, Santa Monica

A new video shows a summary of our art conservation and painting restoration work in the Los Angeles, CA area. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5K5CIUWVp8

http://www.fineartconservationlab.com/  Highest quality professional art conservation and restoration services. Door to door service. Conservation questions? Call Scott M. Haskins 805 564 3438  Also, fine art insurance claims consultant and expert witness in art related matters.

See who our clients are and about our background.

Testimonials: http://www.fineartconservationlab.com/testimonials/

Consultation resume: http://tipsforfineartcollectors.org/consultationsurveys/

About Scott Haskins: http://tipsforfineartcollectors.org/about-scott-haskins/

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/bestartdoc?feature=mhee

Keywords:

faclinc, Art Restoration, Painting Conservation, Restoration of a painting, Painting restoration, Art Conservation, Repair Art, Clean a painting, fix a rip in a painting, Scott M. Haskins, Japanese American National Museum, mural conservation, mural restoration, Jonathan Club, WPA murals, Olympic Murals, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Marina del Rey, Brentwood, Belair, West Hollywood, Pasadena, Glendale, Alta Dena, Encino, Pacific Palisades, Mailbu, West Los Angeles,

Goddess Diana Art Conservation Treatments at Philadelphia Museum of Art

A couple of years ago I made a video wile I walked through the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I was surprised how many people commented and enjoyed that walk through with me. Here's the link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFULHuqJ6kw

In that video I highlighted the statue of the Goddess Diana the which was just announced that the Bank of America is funding conservation treatments and regilding. Here's an interesting article about it: http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=63474#.Ucn3jhb9NjQ

The question comes up every once in awhile, "How ethical is it to redo, repaint, refinish artwork"? That's a good question! If you strip and refinish important valuable furniture, you will seriously impact the value. But, stripping a vintage car down to the metal and redoing it can enhance the value. If you repaint a damaged painting, the value goes into the toilet. But the Chinese restorers cover over damage on old ceramics so to make the damage undetectable (they think)... the value of its original nature is greatly compromised. A historic structure gets completely redone from top to bottom and it adds value to the property. If you over clean valuable wood duck decoys, the value is nil.

In this case, the worry is not about its monetary value but concerns the original nature of a historic statue. The idea with this art conservation intervention is to take it back to its original appearance but I question whether this is heavy handed. Goddess Diana has a history. Let her show off the testimonial conditions and let her be what she is now, today. She will be stunning in gold I'm sure. But her historic wrinkles will be botoxed away.

For a video tour of our lab go to http://www.fineartconservationlab.com
Art conservation questions? Call Scott M. Haskins 805 564 3438
Follow us on Facebook: Scott M. Haskins, Fine Art Conservation

Controversial WPA Mural is Uncovered.... AGAIN!

Rediscovering lost murals?... How can you loose a mural?! Well, this controversial WPA 1930's mural by Harry Donald Jones was painted out, then cleaned, then painted out... all at the command of federal judges! Then the building was traded... what a mixed up deal! Now the Beaux Arts classical federal courthouse has been rehabbed to be  the City hall for Cedar Rapids Iowa and Scott M. Haskins  and FACL been doing the mural conservation and art restoration uncovering this high profile mural in the City Council Chambers the last couple of weeks.

Here's the scoop:http://www.fineartconservationlab.com/wpa-mural-restoration-in-city-hall-of-cedar-rapids-iowa/

Family Portraits - Do your ancestors feel your love?

What are Family Portraits worth? Some are valuable, some are important historical figures and some are only valuable to you and your family.

Here are some that have passed through our painting art conservation lab where we have given them some tender loving care.

You may find it funny that ALL OF THESE PORTRAITS are family ancestor portraits. Here's the video: http://animoto.com/play/4TyVeNlWuFOdGSiCGElGHg

All my best

Scott M. Haskins, Painting conservator

Picture of Christ is renamed "Behold the Monkey!" after Restoration

So much attention has been given this inept restoration of the picture of Christ from a church in Spain! Did you miss it??!!! Well, the restoration was so bad that it has been renamed "Behold the monkey" by some very irreverent types. Here's the before and after the restoration:

But sadly, this situation is not really uncommon! In fact we have a similar example in our lab right now! Here's my blog post, comments and a photo:

http://www.fineartconservationlab.com/in-lab/“restored”-painting-of-christ-in-spain-“behold-the-monkey”/

TTYS
Scott M. Haskins

Nice Paul Lauritz Seascape for Sale - Art Collector Asks Condition Questions

A California Coastal Scene 30 x 36 by Paul Lauritz, very nice, recently came up at auction and a potential art buyer consulted with me regarding the cracking patterns (see upper left of photo). These were his questions and my answers:

1.     Are the cracks going to get worse?

2.     Do the cracks impact the value? 

3.     Can the cracks be removed with proper painting conservation treatments (lining)? 

4.     How much will lining cost? 

5.     Is the correct term “lining” or “relining”? 

6.     Can the artwork look perfect (without cracks)? 

7.     Does the artwork need to be cleaned?

8.     How much will cleaning cost?

9.     Will the art conservation treatments impact the value? 

This collector/investor was thinking of flipping this painting (quick turn around resale after purchase). So, obviously, this inquiry was all about the numbers. Would you like me to crunch numbers with you?

See the answers to these questions and an interesting discussion about value at http://goo.gl/BzvX2

 YouTube videos I’ve posted are at “bestartdoc” channel (CLICK on “bestartdoc”).

Feel free to contact me with your condition and art conservation questions: Scott M. Haskins 805 564 3438 See a short video tour of our painting conservation lab at http://www.fineartconservationlab.com

Other articles of interest to painting collectors can be found at http://www.TipsForArtCollectors.org

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Scott M. Haskins

Vintage Family Photo Portraits Evaluated

Wanna sneak preview of a new video that will NOT BE PUBLIC? 

It will be part of an exclusive video series ONLY for people who buy my book, "How To Save Your Stuff From A Disaster" 

(which can be purchased at 

http://www.PioneerArtRestoration.com

Click on FUNDRAISER)

Here's the insider's link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhCokbzFiTo

Do you have ancestor's photos at home? 

Tell me about them and post a photo! 

Leave a comment. THUMBS UP?

Thanks

XOX

Repair a painting, Clean a painting Las Vegas

We’ve been providing art conservation and painting restoration services to private clients in Las Vegas for many years. When we get a call to restore a painting, clean a painting, fix artwork, repair a rip in a canvas painting, analyze a painting we schedule a personal visit to look over/evaluate the artwork at your location, offering a estimate of the work up front at no charge. Then, if the work is to be done, we offer PU/Delivery to your home or office.

See a new 1 1/2 min intro video and a tour of our lab: http://www.fineartconservationlab.com/art-painting-conservation-restoration-las-vegas/

One of the collections we provide to service to focuses on collecting Old Master Dutch paintings.

Questions? Call Scott Haskins 805 564 3438

Art appraisal Questions? Call Richard Holgate 805 895 5121

Also, follow us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/FineArtConservation

Painting Conservation - Restoration Can Help You Find a Treasure

Whether you are interested in this from an insurance point of view, a resales point of view or a collector's point of view,  you may find this blog post interesting: Painting conservation and restoration and how it affects sales - an example from the LA Art Show http://ping.fm/KrVKm 

If you find the article interesting, please leave a comment, pass it along to others and click on the THUMBS UP.

All my best

Scott

1920's Edgar Payne Painting of Sierra Lake Scene Found - Never Before Seen

It mystifies me where the top art dealers continue to find these great paintings year after year. This is another great example of Edgar Payne's (1883 - 1947)  plein aire masterful works. I can't imagine the effort it took to load up the horse, pack it in to the back country... to go paint!!!!! But the trickier task was to then, pack it all out without ruining your brand new, wet, oil paintings! 

This is what the painting looked like still dirty with a side light (raking light) to show off the cracks better. To see what the painting looks like after conservation and to hear more about the art restoration processes, go to http://www.fineartconservationlab.com/travel/long-lost-edgar-payne-sierra-lake-scene-found-2b-shown-at-la-art-show/


Scott Haskins and FACL, Inc. have worked on over 250 Edgar Payne's paintings over the years with the overwhelming consensus being that the work is top quality. Click here to see some testimonials.


You can see the painting this week at the LA Art Show in George Stern's booth. He and his son, Steve Stern who is also an art dealer, were the one's that turned up this lost treasure.


Art conservation questions? Call Scott at 805 564 3438
Art Appraisal Questions? Call Richard at 805 895 5121


Follow us on Facebook at Fine Art Conservation

The Harbor Freeway Overture Mural's 20th birthday

What a fantastic visual treat it is as you come up the 110 Freeway from the south into downtown Los Angeles. In a day when printed posters for movies are the size of a building, it kind of blows you away to think of a hand painted mural that is 10 stories high. The mural eventually took on the title, The Harbor Freeway Overture. This is a very nice article in today’s LA Times about the 20th birthday of Kent Twitchell’s Monument to the LA Chamber Orchestra. 

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-laco-mural-20111208,0,4011608.story

                             Coming from the south northward on the 110 Freeway in downtown LA

Kent and I have been talking about doing some maintenance on the mural but this mural is not part of the 1984 Olympic Freeway Murals, which are the focus of the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles’ efforts for restoration/conservation/preservation.

Shortly after you pass the Monument to the LA Chamber Orchestra,while you are still downtown, you will see Judy Baca’s great mural on the right side of the freeway under the 4th Street overpass sadly covered with graffiti. A short distance ahead on the left you will see Alonzo Davis’ mural, also vandalized. These two murals are slated for graffiti removal and art conservation just as was done for the Jim Morphesis Monument mural on the 101 freeway (www.savefreewaymurals.com).

The reason the Monument to the LA Chamber Orchestra has looked good all these years and has not been tagged is that it is out of reach, thankfully. Congratulations to Kent Twitchell and the LA Chamber Orchestra for the 20th Anniversary of this incredible, world class quality mural, truely a gift to the City of Los Angeles and all who live and work here.

For videos on the graffiti removal and restoration of other murals in Los Angeles, go to YouTube channel “bestartdoc” at http://www.youtube.com/user/bestartdoc?feature=mhee SUBSCRIBE NOW to be notified when I add more videos.

Conservation/restoration questions? Call Scott M. Haskins 805 564 3438

Art appraisal questions? Call Richard Holgate at 805 895 5121

Is Conservation and Restoration the Same Thing?

Eric Hayden French Circuns from San Juan Puerto Rico asks, "Is Conservation and Restoration the same thing? Are you a practicing conservator?

Hi Eric,
Yes, I'm a practicing conservator.

"Restoration" is more a European term. In the US, the word "restoration" is limited to only making something look good (aesthetics) again. "Conservation" is a broader term that includes the processes of stabilizing and addressing issues of deterioration and preventing the conditions that cause damage (lighting, shipping, handling, RH, UV, IR etc).

Most professional art and object conservators (in the US) look down on the term "restorer" because it refers often to someone who is not ethically and professionally committed to the task of conservation and preservation besides restoration. However, restorer is a term that the public most readily recognizes so you will see professional conservators refer to the word "restorer" only for the benefit of the ignorant public.

That was wordy but I hope it answered your question.

We think that people are interested in what we do, so in addition to this blog, we keep a couple of Facebook pages to keep people entertained: check out "Fine Art Conservation", "Tips For Art Collectors" and "Save Your Stuff."

Art Salvage of Giverney Painting - Monet's Colony

I was called by an 80ish year old lady who had inherited a closet full of paintings, all by the same artist V. Radimsky, that her Dad had bought in Paris in 1922. They had never been shown or put up on the walls. They were all on stretcher bars except one that was rolled up like a newspaper and was considered destroyed.

Since, as a professional art conservator, our ethics don't let us get into buying and selling, I was kind of caught in the middle of helping the owner connect with a buyer who bought the whole collection, even though the artist is pretty well unknown. As a thank you, the owner gave me the destroyed, rolled up painting.

The painting was dirty, paint was flaking off, deep cracking patterns distorted the whole surface...not a pretty sight. So, started by carefully consolidating the flaking by absorbing thermoplastic adhesives into the cracks. They we relaxed the cracks and distortions on the hot table and lined the picture. Once lined and stable, we were able to clean it which brought out the original colors, restored depth of field and contrast to the composition. Then we filled the paint losses, carefully and accurately inpainted and then varnish. It was put onto new stretcher bars and... voila'. Ready to go for another 100 years. Was it worth the effort. You decide.

A little about Radimsky: he went to France to be part of the painting experience surrounding Monet's colony. We assumed this painting was of Giverney as others in the collection that looked similar in technique and subject had written on the stretcher bars by the artist "Giverney." Radimski was hit and killed by a car I believe in 1921.

Hidden Carl Oscar Borg Painting of Santa Barbara Mission Resurfaces

This nice painting of the Santa Barbara Mission by Carl Oscar Borg was inherited by it’s present owner. They aren’t passionate art collectors as a result of education or travel. Even though they inherited the good results of smart parents (who were the collectors), these present owners are still smart enough to know that keeping their valuable artwork in good condition and looking its best is a smart investment. They’ve become passionate about their “gifts.” But this painting took a bit of a turn from “just a quick cleaning.”

At some point, this painting had been trimmed and then the original composition was wrapped around the stretcher bar reducing the overall size by 1 ½” vertically off the top and 2+” horizontally, an inch+ off each side. Why (who can read the minds of Dodo birds!)? Perhaps to fit a pre-existing frame?

The result of this reduction in size was the loss to view of the upper bell housing and a good part of the dome of the closest tower. Also a good inch of detail on both sides was lost. Imagine the reduced composition and how it compromised the artist’s intent and quality!

The new owners were excited to get a larger more original painting as a result of conservation work. The edges were flattened and the painting lined to reveal once again the hidden details. What a difference in composition. And the cleaning was a huge improvement.

Top those benefits off with a new custom carved frame and you have the return of a gorgeous original Carl Oscar Borg that anyone would love to own.

Conservation/authentication questions? Call us at 805 564 3438

Appraisal and research questions? Call Richard Holgate at 805 895 5121

Protect investments and collection: Let us help you get you’re insurance documents together for your collection. Read interesting stories and examples at http://insurancepersonalpropertyassessments.com

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"New" Edgar Payne "Found." What a difference a cleaning can make!

This just in... what a difference a cleaning makes on this Edgar Payne! (clean on the left, dirty on the right) This $100K painting was just " found"! (wish I could "find" something like this!). Yellowed varnish usually "kills" purples turning them to brown and obliterates pinks... or course, it also turns blues to green.

Also, new post of interesting article atwww.tipsforfineartcollectors.org. 

Please pass this interesting stuff along to others!

America Tropical by Siqueiros

Here is an LA Times article on the famous David Alfaro Siqueiros mural, America Tropical. We did the project proposal/planning of the mural for the Getty. http://lat.ms/d8dlzO

3 Tips Before Buying A Painting- Looking at Previous Art Conservation/Art Restoration

Practically daily, I am asked to help look over a painting that is being considered for purchase. Most of the confusion, on the part of the buyer, is when the painting doesn’t look exactly right even though there have been previous restoration/conservation treatments. Some of the questions that a collector could/should ask would be:

1. Does this painting look its best?

2. Has the previous restoration/conservation been done well?

3. Does the present condition impact the price of purchase?

Here’s an example…

This painting was previously, recently cleaned.

This painting by William Wendt was lined with wax and cleaned. The painting is still muted or gray looking and the cracking is still pretty pronounced. Before purchasing the painting the prospective buyer asked me to look it over. By understanding the improvement that could be had with proper conservation treatments (complete cleaning and relining to remove the cracks) the buyer felt completely informed… full disclosure. Our price to do the cleaning, remove the wax lining and reline was $1,500.00. In this case, the buyer was able to negotiate a different sales price that was much lower than the cost of conservation. But, many dealers will at least pay for any additional conservation work needed in order to “seal the deal.”

Another question is, “Should the painting be cleaned and lined AGAIN?” Since this painting is not flaking and not at risk, preservation wise, the conservation work is mostly motivated by aesthetics. In this case, then, I usually ask what the “threshhold of pain” is for the collector. Does the collector care if the painting doesn’t show off its best color? Does cracking bother the collector (if its not at risk for flaking)? If the answer is “No”, then don’t have the work done.

This painting still needs cleaning because either the restorer didn’t see the additional dirty layer (after the top layer was removed) or the owner wanted a cheap clean which only took off the top layer of varnish but not the underlying harder layer.

Its unclear why the painting was lined with wax. It doesn’t appear to have benefited the painting at  all. It doesn’t look like it was ever flaking. So, this part of the previous treatment was simply low quality work.

This painting is actually in great condition, meaning that it has not been damaged. It will be cleaned to reveal its best colors and lined to remove the cracking. Hopefully, the spirit of William Wendt will be proud to have his painting seen in its best light.

So, what can you do to feel like you’ve got “full disclosure” (and understand all your options) before you buy? Here are 3 tips:

1. We will look at the painting for you, at no cost, if the process does not involve analysis. Call me at 805 564 3438

2. Buy from a reputable dealer. You were probably referred or linked to this website buy someone we do business with and therefore I would trust them to give you an honest full disclosure.

3. If you are buying at auction, we often preview artwork for a fee. The main auction houses will allow me to come in for a special viewing(evaluation) at your request. I know most of the painting dept people.

There are other tips for art collectors at www.tipsforfineartcollectors.org (this article will be posted there too)

Learn what you can do at home to save your stuff at www.saveyourstuffblog.com

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“Fine Art Conservation”

“Tips for Art Collectors”

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