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Conservation & Restoration

of Oil Paintings

Select Polychrome Objects

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Disaster Recovery

~ Established 1988 ~

...restoring the world one painting at a time

Accepting new clients over the Holidays!

Schedule an evaluation. Santa Cruz is an exceptionally beautiful place to visit for your appointment.

Call for a free phone consultation. We answer the phone or return calls immediately!

Email us a photo so we can perform preliminary research about your artist so we can be prepared and provide the best service.

House Calls can be scheduled to evaluate your art collection on-site or we can connect you with a preferred art transport service or advise you on safe shipping to our facility.

We treat artworks with cultural, historical and monetary value for museums, institutions and collectors. We also work on artworks with mostly sentimental value which are priceless and irreplaceable to our private clients and therefore to us.

Painted by one of the most famous illustrators in America in the 19th century, this important painting was treated for minor cosmetic problems and frame damage for a private collector. The painting depicts Cadmus who was the founder and first king of Thebes in Greek mythology. He is sowing dragon teeth which sprang up to create a race of fierce warriors known as the Spartoi. The painting had been previously restored and was adhered to a wooden support with minor abrasions, losses, and slight damage to the varnish. Parrish was famous for applying multiple glazing layers to create a sense of golden light emanating from within so it is extremely important not to compromise these multiple layers during any conservation treatment.

Lajos Jambor

1884 - 1955

Hungarian-American

Early 20th century

Oil on canvas

6 x 4 feet

Before Treatment

Water damage and overpaint at the bottom

"La Faneuse"

William Bouguereau, 1870

Oil on Canvas

After

Before

Italian Peasant

Artist Unknown, Monogram

Oil on canvas

1883

Surface dirt, a discolored varnish, tears and holes are the most typical problems with old oil paintings. Here one can see small "windows" where we tested different cleaning strategies to reveal the artist's original paint layer. Note the brilliant whites and saturated reds.

An 11 inch L shaped tear is visible in the vest with masking tape applied on the verso as a temporary repair. This will be filled, textured, and retouched to match the existing colors.

After "lining" the damaged painting to a new Belgian linen canvas, the cleaned and repaired artwork is varnished and ready for framing in a period piece frame.

A high magnification view of the painting surface showing the distinctive yellow discoloration from an oxidized natural resin varnish applied by the artist. This is a detail from a painting belonging to the Monterey Museum of Art.

Removing the varnish layer in the test area shows the brilliant ultra marine blue pigment and the brush strokes. We want to reveal what the artist originally intended.

The diagnosis is critically important before recommending treatment options.

There are many causes of flaking paint including environmental conditions, inherent instability, and additives used by the artist. If your painting is flaking or turning to powder, call us immediately.

The flaking paint is injected with a suitable adhesive, warmed with heated air, and reattached with a heated teflon spatula. The painting is further protected with silicone release paper during treatment not shown here.

It is important to contact a conservator immediately after a disaster to stabilize your artworks and collectibles which will help prevent further damage from occurring. Disaster mitigators can help move your posses ions to a safe place but experts are required to work on your valuables. Contact us before you allow the disaster mitigators to move your valuables. Only qualified conservators should treat your valuables.

This landscape painting and frame was water damaged after a mud slide in Carmel, California, leaving mud across the surface and in the crevices of the frame.

The painting and frame were cleaned and consolidated to prevent further losses. Happily, we were contacted shortly after the flood. It is best not to delay when dealing with a fire or flood

Old frames become brittle when conditions are dry or very humid. Cracks in old frames are typical but, when ornamentation is lost or broken, we must replace them. The above frame was also painted gold which oxidized and turned an unsightly brown.

Often, frames are painted by an owner or eBay seller to make them appear cleaner. This is never a good idea. After stripping down to its bare bones, the above frame was gilded, shellacked and a patina was applied to create the look and feel of antiquity.

Rebecca the Water Bearer

If you have flood or fire damage to artworks that have significant monetary or sentimental value, please contact a conservator before allowing disaster mitigators to take them away. Schedule a house call or an appointment, because you will need an Evaluation, Treatment Proposal, and Estimate to submit to your insurance company. Your insurance company is responsible for reimbursement to you for the time and expertise required to perform the evaluation.

Sesnon Art Gallery

Library Special Collections

History of Art & Visual Culture Department

We serve a large area of central California from Paso Robles to San Francisco and east to Livermore including Los Gatos-Saratoga and the greater San Jose area including Sunnyvale, Santa Clara and Mountain View. Many of our clients come from Los Altos and Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Woodside and Atherton. To the south, we serve Monterey, Salinas, Watsonville, Carmel and Carmel Valley. Many clients come from Oakland and Berkeley and Pleasanton.