by Cecile Mear, Conservator of Works on Paper

2/6/2025

Alice and Carl Bimel, Shahzia Sikander: Collective Behavior, Indian painting, paper conservation, CAMConservation

My initial examination of the painting revealed that some of the paint was poorly attached to the paper support, so before the work went into the gallery, it made a stop in the paper lab.

by Cecile Mear, Conservator of Works on Paper

12/9/2024

The Sweetest Thing, Gee Horton, KMAC Contemporary Art Museum, paper conservation, Black on Both Sides, CAMConservation

In November I travelled to Louisville, Kentucky, to help install two drawings by Cincinnati-based artist Gee Horton at KMAC Contemporary Art Museum.

by Cecile Mear, Conservator of Works on Paper

7/25/2024

George Bellows, lithograph, paper conservation, CAMConservation, slant washing, John L. Sullivan

One of Bellow’s larger lithographs, Introducing John L. Sullivan, is torn in places along its right side; these tears could worsen with handling if not mended.

by Cecile Mear, Conservator of Works on Paper

5/30/2024

paper conservation, lithograph, Anne Bellows, George Bellows

To help this artwork look her best for CAM’s fall exhibition, George Bellows: American Life in Print, she stopped by the Paper Lab for conservation treatment.

by by Cecile Mear, Conservator of Works on Paper

4/5/2024

CAMConservation, paper conservation, Lesley Dill, prints, Tandem Press

Two prints by Lesley Dill featured in the recent post by Curator of Prints Kristin Spangenberg are now on view in Gallery 150. While preparing the prints for framing, I had the opportunity to examine them closely and photograph details that reveal the artist’s creative use of materials.

by Cecile Mear, Conservator of Works on Paper

3/7/2024

CAMConservation, William E. Hentschel, paper conservation, air brush, printmaking, brayer painting

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.

by Cecile Mear, Conservator of Works on Paper

2/8/2024

paper conservation, Woo Chong Yung, C.Y. Woo, Wu Zhongxiong, Asian Art, Asian painting conservation

Preparations are well underway for the upcoming exhibition From Shanghai to Ohio: Woo Chong Yung (1898-1989). In fact, we have been developing the show for more than four years.

by Cecile Mear, Conservator of Works on Paper

1/11/2024

paper conservation, Galt House Cincinnati, Emil Klauprecht, historic Cincinnati, lithograph, CAMConservation

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.

by Cecile Mear, Conservator of Works on Paper

11/30/2023

Galt House Cincinnati, Emil Klauprecht, CAMConservation, works on paper, paper conservation

At first glance it is obvious the print has had a rough life.

by Cecile Mear, Conservator of Works on Paper

8/31/2023

Raphael Soyer, prints, paper conservation, CAMConservation

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.

by Kay Horak, Paper Conservation Intern

8/3/2023

CAMConservation, paper conservation, cam intern, Léonard Gaultier

Over a couple of weeks, I examined, cleaned, and rehoused a series of sixteenth-century prints by Léonard Gaultier (circa 1561–circa 1630).

by Cecile Mear, Conservator of Works on Paper

6/30/2023

CAMConservation, Toyohara Kunichika, ukiyo-e prints, kabuki actor prints, paper conservation

In 2005 the museum received a gift of Japanese art that includes ceramics, paintings, and prints. Now that our Curator of Prints Kristin Spangenberg has finished researching the 35 prints in this gift, I am reviewing their needs before moving them to their permanent storage locations.

by Cecile Mear, Conservator of Works on Paper

6/1/2023

CAMConservation, paper conservation, Courttney Cooper, mounting with magnets, Visionaries and Voices

This week, the museum installed a twenty-first century take on the monumental “roll-up” map.

by Cecile Mear, Conservator of Works on Paper

4/6/2023

CAMConservation, Laurence Sisson, paper conservation, Cincinnati Scenes

A recent bequest of 20th-century American prints and paintings includes this view of Cincinnati by Laurence Sisson (1928–2015). Painted in watercolor with pen and black ink, the scene captures downtown buildings overlooking the Ohio River as Sisson saw them in 1954.

by Cecile Mear, Conservator of Works on Paper

3/9/2023

CAMConservation, John Ruthven, paper conservation

Paper conservation often involves undoing repairs by others who don’t have the knowledge or materials needed to best preserve the art. I recently examined a drawing by Cincinnati artist John Ruthven (1924 – 2020) with a long tear that had been mended with pressure sensitive tape, often referred to as “Scotch tape.”

by Cecile Mear, Conservator of Works on Paper

2/9/2023

Illustration of Hell, Comparative Hell: Arts of Asian Underworlds, paper conservation, Hand scroll display, CAMConservation

A larger portion of the painting is currently on view in New York until May 7, after which the scroll will travel to the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco and be on exhibit June 16–September 18, 2023.

by Cecile Mear, Conservator of Works on Paper

1/11/2023

paper conservation, yoshida hiroshi, color woodcut, CAMConservation

See these and other woodcut prints (including Himeji Castle in the Morning, a variation of the print seen here) by seven members of the talented Yoshida family spanning most of the twentieth century until April 9, 2023.

by Conservation

11/1/2022

Beyond Bollywood, Indira Devi, Mithila region, paper conservation, oversized drawing, CAMConservation

It truly takes a team to make an exhibition. This

by Conservation

8/11/2022

William Blake, The Book of Thel, J.R.R. Tolkien, paper conservation, Haggerty Museum of Art, CAMConservation

The lesser-known book, The Book of Thel, is now featured in an exhibit in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

by Conservation

5/19/2022

paper conservation, works on paper, James Stephanoff, King George IV coronation

Our paper conservator’s challenge is to remove enough yellow discoloration from the paper so that it is closer to its original color and more closely matches the other prints in the group.

by Conservation

4/21/2022

paper conservation, Mexican prints, Jose Ignacio Aguirre

Mexican Printmakers 1920s to 1950s is on display until August 14, where you can see this print and learn about Aguirre and his fellow artists.

by Conservation

3/24/2022

Joseph Urban, Heinrich Lefler, Brothers Grimm, works on paper, paper conservation, Unlocking an Art Deco Bedroom

A group of illustrations of Brothers Grimm fairy tales were prepared for matting.

by Conservation

10/28/2021

Wu Zhongxiong, Asian painting conservation, Asian painting, paper, paper conservation

Shown here is a painting by Wu Zhongxiong that was selected by the Curator of Asian art to include in our next grant application.

by Conservation

9/30/2021

CAMConservation, paper conservation, Robert Frederick Blum

The print is now on its way to the Smithsonian Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C. with three other Cincinnati Art Museum pieces for exhibit in Sargent, Whistler, and Venetian Glass: American Artists and the Magic of Murano.

by Conservation

6/10/2021

William Doughty, Samuel Johnson, Joshua Reynolds, paper conservation, mezzotint

Early this year the museum was given this portrait of the 17th century English writer Dr. Samuel Johnson.

by Conservation

5/13/2021

Asian painting, paper conservation

Our paper conservator and our curator of East Asian art have been examining paintings from storage so we can add information to the curatorial and conservation files.

by Conservation

4/15/2021

Thom Shaw, Phillip O. Smith, paper conservation

This print came to the paper lab because the original framing method had encouraged distortions to form across the top of the paper.

by Conservation

1/21/2021

Order of Cincinnatus, Eleventh Cincinnati Exposition, Panorama print, behind the scenes, conservation, paper conservation

Last week our paper conservator visited the Contemporary Arts Center downtown to deinstall the museum’s Panorama of the Procession.

by Conservation

9/10/2020

paper conservation, embossed print, imprint on paper, Étienne Hajdú, conservation

An amazing transformation took place this summer in the Paper Lab.

by Conservation

8/6/2020

paper conservation, conservation, behind the scenes, 20th century, Marcel Duchamp, conservation internship, stained print, stained paper

In celebration of his 133rd birthday, let’s take a closer look at Duchamp’s intaglio print of a cubist-style coffee grinder currently undergoing conservation in the Paper Lab.