The  NATURAL HISTORY ART GALLERY

A Collectors guide to  conservation, care and handling OF WORKS OF ART AND DOCUMENTS

This document was first damaged by folding.  The resultant tears and fragmenting were improperly mended with pressure-sensitive tapes.  A fatty substance in the tape had saturated and severely stained the paper.  The multiple treatments for this piece began with removing all improper repairs, including pressure- sensitive tapes and gum residues.  Then the fragments were joined with Japanese tissues using pH neutral starch-based adhesive.  Voids were completed with paper inlays and tears were fiber filled.

Go to Previous Page

INTRODUCTION

Go to Next Chapter

Many of us possess something on paper or canvas that has suffered damage.  Perhaps it is an old and valuable letter or document, creased and torn from repeated folding and unfolding, yellowed and embrittled by acidification.  Or maybe it is an antique print such as a Currier and Ives, framed 75 years ago and not viewed then as an object of value.  Now it is stained with brown speckling (known as “foxing” and dark brown vertical lines transformed from the old wooden shingles used to back the frame.  Or it could be a photograph or picture which was stored in the basement and damaged by water, a wavy brown tidemark discoloring the paper.  Often damaged pieces such as these are considered a loss because their owners are not aware that the paper can be restored effectively.

 Joel Oppenheimer, Inc., a nationally renowned art facility, was founded in 1969 by the conservator for the Department of Prints and Drawings of the Art Institute of Chicago to fulfill the need for professional conservation services in the private sector.  We maintain an apprenticeship program and train our own staff, all of whom hold degrees in fine arts and art history.  Our staff can analyze and perform corrective treatment for anything that is on paper or canvas.  This includes drawings, prints, maps, photographs, documents, paintings and oriental screens.  Our laboratories have developed and perfected techniques for restoration of paper and canvas, which enable us to retain delicate pigments, signatures, and hand coloring.

 Fine art restoration is divided into specific areas of expertise.  Restoring a painting or drawing, for instance, is in essence problem solving related to the “substrate” or, material on which the piece is executed as well as the medium or emulsion layer that is on that substrate.  This is why paintings conservation and paper conservation require a different basis of knowledge. With our expertise in both art and science, Joel Oppenheimer, Inc. employs the care and attention to detail of old world craftsmanship while utilizing state-of-the-art technology.  Each piece and problem is treated with singular care.  Our clients include major museums which require our particular expertise, smaller museums, which do not have their own restoration facilities, galleries, institutions, and private collectors nationwide.

 In this handbook we will answer frequently asked questions about  fine art and family heirloom restoration; help you identify the kinds of damage that can occur to paintings, paper and photographs, and explain what can be done to prevent and remedy these problems.  With a broader knowledge of the principles of conservation and restoration, collectors can better preserve and care for their valued works on paper or canvas.

Go to Previous Page

Go to Next Chapter

This page, and all contents, are Copyright © 2007 by Joel Oppenheimer, INC.