3/14/2024
As paintings conservators, we may use chemicals, but we certainly don’t give facials.
3/7/2024
Two prints by Willim Hentschel came through the paper lab with old hinges and pressure sensitive tapes. The artist’s work is unlike any other in the collection.
2/29/2024
These elegant pale blue kid leather shoes came to the lab for a new storage tray and interior padding, but they are interesting because they bear tell-tale damage from a specific collection pest: silverfish.
2/22/2024
This week in objects conservation, we are working on several pieces of micromosaic jewelry made in Italy during the late-19th century.
2/15/2024
Last month, three Northwestern scientists brought their highly specialized scanning and imaging equipment to the museum and spent a week in our Paintings/Objects lab.
2/1/2024
Something is afoot with these shoes! Can you put your finger (or toe) on the difference?
1/25/2024
This iridescent green shade came to the lab in a box of fragments. Piece by piece, I built the individual fragments back into a shade.
1/18/2024
This visitor favorite, Girl Eating Porridge, by French artist Adolphe William Bouguereau (1825–1905), was acquired by the museum in 1884, a mere ten years after the artist painted it.
1/11/2024
In my post of November 30, I promised to explain what it took to improve the appearance and the mechanical condition of Emil Klauprecht’s 1830s lithograph, Galt House.
1/4/2024
Check out some small wonders from the world of textile artwork!
12/28/2023
These tiny ceramic fragments are part of a Japanese doll’s tea set. I am working on putting these pieces back together so that they can be displayed with their doll in the future.
12/7/2023
This small painting by American artist Julian Alden Weir (1852–1919) was donated to the museum by the artist in 1911.
11/30/2023
At first glance it is obvious the print has had a rough life.
11/16/2023
We’ve got it all! All the width of this 1920s embroidered voile (fine soft sheer fabric), that is.
11/9/2023
Several small copper alloy objects, pieces of jewelry and articles of adornment, are all showing signs of bronze disease.
11/2/2023
These three portraits by 18th-century British artist Thomas Gainsborough are in the paintings conservation lab to be examined for the British catalog project.
10/12/2023
In the Conservation Lab, we are working on this large ceramic jar from Dynasty I Egypt (3100–2900 BCE).
10/11/2023
As the new Curatorial Assistant for South Asian Art, Islamic Art, and Antiquities, finding “my favorite piece here at the museum is a serious task! The possibilities for finding “the one” are endless.
10/5/2023
This small round painting, attributed to the studio of the 17th century Dutch artist Frans Hals, was recently in the paintings conservation lab to have its discolored varnish removed.
9/28/2023
An interesting artifact has entered the museum Archives, courtesy of Archivist/Records Manager Geoff Edwards. This glass paperweight holds a small photograph of the museum and the Cincinnati Art Academy (now located downtown).
9/21/2023
There are few things more satisfying than seeing some really dramatic “before and after” photos when a conservation treatment is complete! Conservation of Elizabeth Hawes’ “flag dress” or Geographic (1940) has wrapped up, and now you can flip through a whole album of “before/after” pairs showing the transformations of many of the flags that cover the dress.
9/14/2023
If you’ve been following our Conservation blog posts, you may have seen several updates as we carried out treatment over the past two years.
8/31/2023
In 2019 and 2020 the museum received three prints by American artist Raphael Soyer (1899–1987), the first of his prints to enter the museum’s collection.
8/24/2023
The forecourt display case in the Conversations Gallery is fresh! A new rotation arrived last week, and it is practically aglow with summery white freshness. How does a 150-year-old child’s dress look this crisp and breezy?
8/17/2023
Last month we took our Magic Mirror to Ethicon Endo-Surgery for analysis to learn more about this ancient bronze object and the seemingly magical way it can project the image of the Amida Buddha under certain lighting conditions.
8/10/2023
We’ve had this painting by American Impressionist Theodore Robinson (1852–1896) listed for varnish removal for a while. That’s because curators and conservators know that Impressionist artists rarely varnished their paintings.
8/3/2023
Over a couple of weeks, I examined, cleaned, and rehoused a series of sixteenth-century prints by Léonard Gaultier (circa 1561–circa 1630).
7/27/2023
How would you like to travel in a custom “sleeping bag”? These three dresses designed by Ann Lowe (American, 1898–1981) are headed to the Winterthur Museum in Delaware for the exhibition Ann Lowe: American Couturier, snuggled in soft surrounds for a safe and comfortable trip.
7/5/2023
Another work recently conserved for the British catalog project, The Approaching Storm by English artist Thomas Barker (1769–1847), presented a challenge.