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From the UDaily article by Ann Manser:
A collection of rare mural paintings, In Exaltation of Flowers,
will go on public view in September, for the first time in more than a
century, thanks to conservation work by a team of University of Delaware
students and alumni.
The seven paintings by Edward Jean Steichen, an artist who was best
known for his photography, will be exhibited at the Dallas Museum of Art
from Sept. 5 through May 28. Two students and two recent alumni from
the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation
(WUDPAC) have spent the summer examining the large canvases, studying
the methods and materials the artist used and implementing conservation
treatments.
The four interns, all specializing in the conservation of paintings,
are working under the supervision of Laura Eva Hartman, the museum’s
associate paintings conservator who also is a UD alumna. Hartman earned
her bachelor’s degree in art conservation in 2010 and her master’s
degree through WUDPAC in 2013.
Calling the paintings “unique and magnificent,” Hartman noted that
they have been in storage for 102 years. The conservation team unrolled
the seven canvases and studied them in detail, stretched them onto new
supports and then cleaned and restored their surfaces.
“My four UD interns have been phenomenal,” Hartman said. “They are
all brilliant and extremely talented. … Several discoveries were made
during the [examination] process which have greatly enhanced the
historical context of the murals.”
To read the full UDaily article, click here.
