Oil Painting Restoration

A 19th century oil painting of sheep by Rosa Bonheur (French, 1822-1899) was heading for obscurity when rescued by a pair of collectors. Careful restoration saved it from further damage.
The video above describes the processes used to revive it.

From the owners:
“Amazing and exciting. Truly brought back from the dead…we love it and it hangs in a place of distinction where we’re sure to see it every day. We’re now on the hunt for you next project!”
-Scott & Rae, Rhode Island Antiques Mall

This masterful 1895 oil painting painting by French artist Hyppolyte Alizone was found in a state of  severe damage.  It was filthy, torn, and had missing sections.  It was laid to a board for stability, then cleaned.  The missing areas were built up to simulate the heavy impasto of the surrounding image, and then in-painted to approximate what details they may have held.  The result is a beautiful example of  French Barbizon painting which inspired the American Tonalist Movement.

The above portrait shows silent-film star Rudolph Valentino in the costume of his last role. Valentino is believed to have sat for this portrait, and it belonged to one of his co-stars for many years.
Unfortunately, a subsequent owner wasn’t a Valentino fan, and stored this bit of Hollywood history in a damp basement. The paint was lifting all-over and resembled a mess of potato chips. Careful consolidation (re-adhering the lifting paint), patching and retouching were needed to restore the leading-man’s heart-throb appearance.

A thank-you note from a collector of Arthur Diehl’s paintings:

September 30, 2013

Dear Mr. Wood,

I wanted to thank you for the beautiful work restoring our Arthur Diehl Paintings. Eventually, I will bring the previously cleaned paintings in for appraisal. (Two that were cleaned & repaired at RISD.) Your work was far
superior!

Thank you again…

Collector Lawrence Branagan with his early 19th Century portrait, after cleaning and restoration.

This small (10 inches high) portrait of a lovely little girl was painted in Maine in the late 1890’s. It had a heavy layer of grime and darkened varnish, but the worst damage was caused by an old attempt at cleaning which partially removed the paint on her face and the background above. Careful cleaning revealed the basic outlines of the hair, eyes and nose, which were used as a guide in re-creating the face.

The circa 1865 oil painting above had multiple tears and scrapes, along with a thick layer of grime. During restoration, it was discovered that the painting may be a study for Love’s Melancholy, an 1866 oil painting by Constant Mayer (1829-1911) which is in the collection of The Art Institute of Chicago.

The loose and cracked paint was consolidated, and a vapor treatment helped relax the painting. It was lined onto a new piece of polyester canvas, cleaned, holes repaired, and in-painted. A new coat of non-yellowing varnish brought out all the details.

This 18th century portrait of Maximilian III, from the workshop of Georges Desmares had most of its paint! The face and details were carefully reconstructed, based on the remaining outlines and bits of pigment.

From the owners: “We are THRILLED with the work you’ve done on our painting! We literally gasped when we saw “our man”. I had stared at that painting for countless hours and never realized his hair was long and cascading down his shoulder! We are very excited … Thank you so much…”

Detail of the 1864 portrait of Oliver Dean, founder of Dean College, during cleaning and varnish removal. Turns out he didn’t have a tan!

This view of our conservation studio shows paintings of the Deans and Presidents of Dean College in various stages of repair.

The above detail of a painting by Edward Potthast shows how cleaning and new varnish can bring back contrast and colors in an old oil painting.

The above painting was made about 1910, and suffered from poor materials, water damage and shrinking, which literally tore it apart.
After careful reconstruction, it is beautiful again!

This oil portrait of a former Superintendant of the Boston Public Schools had been wrapped in newspaper and stored in a hot attic for decades.

The heat caused the paint to melt in spots and bond with the newspaper. Also, the painting had never been varnished, and severe oxidation caused discoloration in the face and an overall haze on the surface of the painting, obscuring many details. There was also a small (one inch) hole in the shirt and tie.

After cleaning, restoring and conserving the painting, the colors have returned to what the artist intended.

This antique painting of a ship looked battle-worn . Multiple holes and canvas losses were scattered across the heavily craquelured, brittle canvas.  After consolidation, lining, patching. in-painting and some retouching, the ship sails proudly once again.

Clean paintings
Remove the effects of smoke damage,
water damage, mold and darkened varnish.

Restore colors
Oil paint oxidizes when it dries, and becomes dull over time.
This is especially evident in paintings which have never been varnished.
Cleaning and nourishing the paint surface, followed
by varnishing, can restore the colors to reflect the artist’s
original vision.

Fix holes and scratches in paintings
Canvas repair and reweaving;
gouges in panels repaired and repainted.

Replace lost and damaged paint
Professional, undetectable inpainting and retouching.

Varnish paintings
Non-yellowing protective varnish with UV light filtering qualities provides maximum surface protection .

Stabilize paintings: Reline paintings
Fragile canvasses can be mounted on a variety of new surfaces including linen, canvas and hardboards. Relining stabilizes the
painting and relaxes the paint film. It also retards the progression
of stress cracks and other damage caused by uneven tension,
flexing and mishandling.

Insurance claim estimates
We are glad to provide estimates for insurance claims.

Cleaning & Repair Prices