Services
AS Art Conservation offers conservation treatment and restoration, collections surveys, and preservation assessments of paintings and painted surfaces for private and institutional clients. These include easel and wall paintings executed in a variety of media, including oil, acrylic, house paint, tempera, and casein.
Initial consultations are offered in the studio free of charge. There is a small charge for on-site consultations for institutional and private clients. Upon examination of your artwork, an oral estimate will be provided. With your consent, a written estimate with an examination report and treatment proposal will be completed for a small fee. Estimates are based on an hourly rate. Please call or email for more information, or to make an appointment.
Conservation work is always dictated by the needs of the artworks. Services offered include:
Initial consultations are offered in the studio free of charge. There is a small charge for on-site consultations for institutional and private clients. Upon examination of your artwork, an oral estimate will be provided. With your consent, a written estimate with an examination report and treatment proposal will be completed for a small fee. Estimates are based on an hourly rate. Please call or email for more information, or to make an appointment.
Conservation work is always dictated by the needs of the artworks. Services offered include:
Preventive Conservation, Collections Care, and Exhibition PreparationPreventive conservation takes a proactive and holistic view of your collection. Preventive conservation treatments and consultations include assessing and adjusting framing, storage, shipping, display, installation, and other environmental factors that might affect the condition of your artworks.
Examination and documentation of art is a crucial part of collections care. Photographic and written documentation accompanies all conservation treatment as per the American Institute for Conservation's Code of Ethics, and can be established separately when buying, selling, loaning, or insuring artworks. Larger collection surveys - a large-scale overview of the condition of your collection - can also help in prioritizing treatments or obtaining grants. |
Structural Conservation TreatmentStructural treatments include repairing tears, patching holes, lining and removing linings (material adhered behind the painting to provide support), adjusting canvas tension, humidification and flattening of warped or bulging canvases, stretching or re-stretching paintings, and setting down lifting or loose paint media.
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Surface Cleaning and Varnish RemovalPaintings accumulate surface dirt and grime just like anything else. Working with hand-rolled cotton swabs, conservators use tailored aqueous solutions to carefully remove surface dirt from the painting, often resulting in brightened colors and increased surface gloss.
Many traditional paintings are varnished, or given a thin coating of resin to protect and saturate the paint. Over time, varnishes discolor and distort the painting's original sense of color and light. Removal of discolored varnish (again using swabs and a tailored solvent mixture) and re-varnishing with a stable, modern resin can make a huge difference in the appearance of your painting. |
Examples of Treatment
Often conservation work results in significant improvements to the artwork's safety (always the most important aspect of treatment) and a subtle change in appearance. It's always fun when making a painting safer also involves a dramatic cleaning or transformative retouching, though. Here are a few of Anne's recent treatments with more exciting visuals.
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