Our paintings conservator has conserved a number of very large paintings in the past couple of years: 

Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Ladder Required

Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Return of the Shrimp

Behind the Scenes in Conservation: A Close Encounter

Behind the Scenes in Conservation: A watchful eye!

So it was a welcome break when this small but mighty picture by Manet came to the lab to be cleaned and re-varnished.  In fact, the painting is so small that it fit nicely in our new fume hood.  And because the chemical solvent needed to dissolve the varnish safely is one of the more toxic in the paintings conservation toolkit, cleaning the painting in the exhaust chamber was a distinct convenience!

Look for Women at the Races to be returned to the gallery soon!

Edouard Manet (French, 1832-1883), Women at the Races, 1866, oil on canvas, Fanny Brice Lehmer Endowment, 1944.105