About Painting Conservation: What Does a Painting Conservator Do?
A paintings conservator is a trained professional who specializes in the remediative and preventive care of paintings. Conservators receive education from a variety of sources, but most independent paintings conservators have learned practical skills through apprenticeships and received theoretical education through graduate programs specifically designed for the profession. Their primary role is to ensure the longevity and stability of painted surfaces and paintings on traditional substrates – safeguarding those pieces for future generations to appreciate and study.
What Do Painting Conservators Study?
Painting conservators are educated in chemistry, physics, environmental science, art history, and studio art. Conservators study chemistry to learn about the interactions between pigments, binders, debris, and coatings with liquid solvents, solvent gels, and chelating agents. They study physics to conduct pigment identification and analysis, to utilize x-radiography and other conservation equipment, to determine appropriate light exposure, and to interpret a variety of condition issues.
Conservators study environmental science to understand the relationship between painted surfaces, varnishes, primary supports, and secondary supports with their surrounding environments. This involves learning about the impact of humidity, aridity, high temperatures, low temperatures, air pollution, smoke, soot, pests, and other conditions on such surfaces.
Conservators study art history to learn about historical artist techniques, materials, composition, construction, and early approaches to restoration. They study studio art to better understand paint and coating formulations, contemporary art approaches, and new materials. Painting conservators also study studio art to improve their hand skills, which aid with inpainting losses, texturing fills, mixing colors, selecting or adjusting varnishes, and more.
Conservators typically augment their formal education through continuing education opportunities in crafts like gilding, framing, weaving, and carpentry. Painting conservators often consider museums, galleries, and private collectors to be stewards of our shared heritage, and thus work within an ethical code. Still, conservators will honor the owner’s goals and budget as long as they reflect these standards.
What Do Painting Conservators Do in the Studio and On-Site?
Here are a few of the many tasks that a painting conservator might execute during a typical day at the studio or on-site at a gallery, museum, recovery site, or client’s home:
Examination and Condition Assessment
Conservators begin by examining the painting to understand its condition and any underlying issues. They consider the materials used by the artist, the painting's structure, the painting’s environment, previous conservation or restoration attempts, and the extent of damage or deterioration.
Visible light, UV light, and magnification are used to examine the recto and verso of a painting. In the studio, a conservator will use her optical or stereomicroscope. On site, she will use a handheld “microscope” or a jeweler’s loupe.
Cleaning tests are also common during the examination process. These might involve physical cleaning with a small brush or sponge. They might also involve solvents, whereby we apply small amounts of a solvent to better understand the surface coating. All tests are discrete.
In some cases, a conservator must remove the painting from its frame to properly examine it. The client is always asked for permission before this step is taken.
Documentation
Next, conservators carefully detail all of their findings – including condition issues, information about construction, details about provenance like labels and signatures, and so much more.
Each conservator has their own shorthand for condition assessments. When I started my career, I was guilty of writing extremely detailed but difficult to interpret condition reports. The goal is to understand what happened or is happening to the painting, what the artist intended, which conditions will continue to impact the painting, and how you might approach treatment. Condition issues that pose an immediate threat to the painting – like an insect infestation, mold, mud, or flaking paint – are prioritized. The client is always given a report before treatment begins.
Further Research
Conservators often conduct research to understand the artist's techniques, materials used, and historical context, which informs their conservation approach. This brings us to treatment.
Stabilization
The first stage of treatment is stabilization. This might involve the following:
Consolidating Cracked, Lifted, and Tented Paint
Moisture Treatments and Humidity Chambers
Pest Management
Mold Removal
Structural Stabilization of the Stretcher or Strainer
Repairing Tears
Sometimes, this means stabilizing flaking paint or conducting moisture treatments to bring the canvas back into plane before the paint is further destabilized.
Consolidation involves feeding adhesive beneath lifted, tented, or cracked paint. Sometimes, heat is applied. We use tweezers and other fine implements to redirect displaced paint to its proper place under the microscope. Often, this is done in concert with humidity chambers, moisture treatments, etc. to ensure the paint falls or flexes back into place.
Other times, it means stabilizing the stretcher or strainer. For paintings with structural issues, conservators may reinforce the canvas or secondary support to prevent further deterioration and ensure the artwork's stability. We also care for the labels and inscriptions on a painting to preserve its provenance and history.
In some cases, stabilization involves removing mold and other foreign accretions that are actively eating away at the paint, canvas, etc. There is some crossover between stabilization and cleaning, which brings us to that stage.
Cleaning
Paintings often accumulate layers of grime, dirt, and discolored varnish over time. Some paintings are vandalized or simply neglected. I have treated paintings hung in food courts where lunch was repeatedly splattered across the delicate painted surfaces.
Conservators carefully clean a painting's surface both mechanically and chemically. We use sponges, brushes, picks, scalpels, solvents, chelating agents, swabs with moisture, and more. We begin with mechanical cleaning – removing debris and accretions – before using solvents. Cleaning always occurs after stabilization, as cleaning a delicate area can result in further damage.
Varnish Removal and Reapplication
A common misconception is that conservators always remove and replace a painting’s varnish. Removing varnish is sometimes necessary, but it is often hard on the painted surface, which is why we remove varnishes sparingly. If the varnish is actively harming the painted surface, is obscuring it, or contradicts the artist’s original intent, we will remove it or reduce it.
In some cases, a varnish is applied later in the painting’s life but was never intended for that particular piece. If we remove the varnish, it will better reflect the artist’s intent. However, some blanching might occur, meaning that we must apply a light, reversible varnish to certain areas that must be further saturated to improve readability.
Mending and Lining
Again, there is crossover between mending and stabilization. In fact, mending is a subset of stabilization. It involves reweaving fibers of the canvas, patching tears, and more. In some cases, a conservator might add a strip-lining, a loose lining, or fully line the painting. However, full linings are relatively rare as they often flex in tension against the painting’s original primary support – which can cause further damage. Full linings can also be incredibly difficult to remove. No matter the approach, reversible materials are always used.
Filling and Inpainting
When the painted surface and/or priming is damaged, we will fill and inpaint those areas of loss with reversible materials. The goal is to enhance readability, not trick an expert (an appraiser, conservator, art historian, etc.) into believing that our inpainting is the artist’s original work. However, we will match the original colors, tones, textures, and imagery for minor losses. For major losses, we might outline the lost imagery instead of recreating it. Different conservators have different approaches.
Preventive Conservation and Recommendations
Above, we outlined the interventive or remediative conservation approaches taken by painting conservators. However, painting conservators also conduct preventive conservation and provide recommendations related to ongoing preventive conservation conducted by the client.
We usually design, construct, and affix backing boards to paintings that can accommodate them to prevent damage during handling, from pests, and from debris. In some cases, backing boards and batting provide additional support to the canvas. We always encapsulate labels associated with the piece.
Conservators also advise on the proper transport, display, handling, and storage of artworks to prevent future damage or deterioration. In some cases, we design storage and transport solutions for specific paintings. We may also recommend environmental controls in museums, galleries, and private collections to maintain optimal conditions for the artwork.
Please feel free to reach out by phone or email if you have any questions about the examination or treatment process!
