Student Blog: A change in plans

​I was looking forward to working abroad as a conservation intern in Italy after graduating from the undergraduate art conservation program at the University of Delaware in the summer of 2020. However, after the outbreak of COVID-19 abruptly halted international travel and closed down most museums, that opportunity was no longer feasible. Thankfully, Professor Brian Baade and Dr. Kristin deGhetaldi offered a unique opportunity to work on textured wax-resin fills as part of their private practice and I have been working with them since the beginning of the summer. I would like to dedicate this post to them for their amazing mentorship and generosity.

Before I was brought in to assist with the fills, Professor Baade and Dr. deGhetaldi had completed several treatment steps. The oil painting by W. Howard, had extensive damage, including major areas of paint loss that went down to the canvas and canvas deformations. The painting's condition, such as the accumulation of grime and canvas deformations, resulted in part from its storage in a barn. In addition, a less-than-ideal past treatment left the verso of the painting saturated with adhesive and had several, bulky burlap canvas patches. The restorer did not fill in losses and globally overpainted the recto, which has now stained the original paint layer.   

​Treatment began by facing the recto for extra support before structural work was done. The canvas patches and the adhesive on the verso were then removed, in order to create an even surface for lining. Afterwards, the painting was humidified in order to reduce the deformations and then local areas were consolidated with BEVA®371. It was then lined with BEVA®371 onto Sunbrella. 

Once lined, the painting was cleaned using aqueous application of a chelator, free solvents, and gelled solvents, in order to remove both the accumulation of grime and reduce the global overpaint campaign. Because the previous restorer did not fill in losses, the extensive paint damage was clearly visible. 

Because of the major paint loss, any relatively large, untextured fill would be immediately visible in contrast with the original, textured paint layer. Therefore, most of the losses were filled with a mixture of beeswax, carnauba wax and Ketone Resin N; which had a melting point of 90℉ and a relatively easy workability for texturing. Although this wax-resin-resin mixture may be inappropriate for another painting, the canvas had already been saturated with extraneous materials by the previous restoration campaign; through its global inpainting and multiple coats of glues and adhesives on the reverse. Therefore, the addition of this wax-resin-resin mixture would not impact the already saturated canvas system. In addition, this mixture was chosen because it would be able to hold the texture from the silicone mold while remaining stable and consolidating the losses. 

​When I arrived, some areas were already filled with wax-resin but not textured. It was my goal to successfully blend the wax-resin fills in with the rest of the painting's surface using a silicone mold and a thermally controlled tacking iron. Before I assisted with treatment, Professor Baade had created silicone molds of the undamaged portions of the painted surface using silicone and thick mylar. 

​After lining up the silicone mold, I heated the wax-resin through the mold with the tacking iron, set at about 170℉, until it the wax-resin-resin became malleable and was able to receive the texture from the silicone mold. I then placed a cold, flat weight over the area to solidify the fill and establish planarity. The painting was supported by wooden blocks underneath to prevent damage. I then waited about ten seconds for the area to solidify before peeling the mold off to reveal a textured fill. 

After these fills were textured, I applied chips of the solid wax-resin mixture to the unfilled areas and heated them under mylar with the tacking iron. After filling these losses, I continued the texturing process until most of the losses were filled and textured.

After texturing, the painting was varnished with an isolating coat of PVA AYAB. The painting was then placed on an easel in order to begin inpainting with Golden Conservation PVA Colors.  I began with the sky, the most abstract and therefore easiest area of inpainting. However, because of the amount of loss, it was still difficult to discern the imagery and to accurately reconstruct the landscape. Therefore, my first step was to inpaint a general color that was relatively close to the surrounding area. This way, the areas of loss would be reduced and less distracting, which would lead to an easier appraisal and analysis. 

Currently, I have just completed this initial inpainting campaign. In the future, I will fine-tune the inpainting of the sky, and under the supervision and aid of Dr. deGhetaldi, reconstruct major areas of loss in the sky. Afterwards, I will inpaint the remaining areas of loss. 

Building upon the experience gained in my previous internship with WUDPAC's Dr. Joyce Hill Stoner at Winterthur Museum, this opportunity furthered my knowledge and skill in the structural and aesthetic treatment of a severely damaged painting. This opportunity has inspired me to pursue a career in private conservation and helped prepare me for admission to a graduate conservation program. I am so grateful to Professor Baade and Dr. deGhetaldi for allowing me to continue practicing conservation during this global pandemic and for giving me access to their collection of conservation literature. Without their help, I would not be able to continue studying this incredible field. 

— Kelsey Marino, Class of 2020, Art Conservation major, University of Delaware Woman of Promise 2020