by Kelly Rectenwald, Conservator of Objects

4/18/2024

Miss Mariko Okinawa, objects conservation, CAMConservation, teapot, Japanese Art, tea set

In our last post about the Miss Mariko Okinawa doll’s tea set, we discussed re-joining all of the tiny ceramic fragments.

by Serena Urry, Chief Conservator

3/14/2024

CAMConservation, British portraiture, paintings conservation, Henry Raeburn, British catalog project, CAM British Painting catalog, CAM British Paintings

As paintings conservators, we may use chemicals, but we certainly don’t give facials.

by Cecile Mear, Conservator of Works on Paper

3/7/2024

CAMConservation, William E. Hentschel, paper conservation, air brush, printmaking, brayer painting

Two prints by Willim Hentschel came through the paper lab with old hinges and pressure sensitive tapes. The artist’s work is unlike any other in the collection.

by Obie Linn, Conservator of Textiles

2/29/2024

CAMConservation, textile conservation, museum pests, silverfish, historic Cincinnati

These elegant pale blue kid leather shoes came to the lab for a new storage tray and interior padding, but they are interesting because they bear tell-tale damage from a specific collection pest: silverfish.

by Kelly Rectenwald, Objects Conservator

2/22/2024

objects conservation, CAMConservation, micromosaic jewelry, fashion

This week in objects conservation, we are working on several pieces of micromosaic jewelry made in Italy during the late-19th century.

by Serena Urry, Chief Conservator

2/15/2024

CAMConservation, Cezanne, paintings conservation, hidden paintings, X-ray, XRF macro-scan

Last month, three Northwestern scientists brought their highly specialized scanning and imaging equipment to the museum and spent a week in our Paintings/Objects lab.

by Obie Linn, Conservator of Textiles

2/1/2024

CAMConservation, textile conservation, Rei Kawakubo, behind the scenes, Historical Shoes, Comme des Garcons

Something is afoot with these shoes! Can you put your finger (or toe) on the difference?

by Kelly Rectenwald, Objects Conservator

1/25/2024

CAMConservation, objects conservation, glass lamp shade, rejoining fragments

This iridescent green shade came to the lab in a box of fragments. Piece by piece, I built the individual fragments back into a shade.

by Serena Urry, Chief Conservator

1/18/2024

CAMConservation, Bouguereau, surface cleaning, visitor favorite, paintings conservation

This visitor favorite, Girl Eating Porridge, by French artist Adolphe William Bouguereau (1825–1905), was acquired by the museum in 1884, a mere ten years after the artist painted it.

by Cecile Mear, Conservator of Works on Paper

1/11/2024

paper conservation, Galt House Cincinnati, Emil Klauprecht, historic Cincinnati, lithograph, CAMConservation

In my post of November 30, I promised to explain what it took to improve the appearance and the mechanical condition of Emil Klauprecht’s 1830s lithograph, Galt House.

by Obie Linn, Conservator of Textiles

1/4/2024

CAMConservation, tiraz textiles, textile conservation

Check out some small wonders from the world of textile artwork!

by Kelly Rectenwald, Objects Conservator

12/28/2023

CAMConservation, objects conservation, tea set, Japan, Japanese Art, Miss Mariko Okinawa

These tiny ceramic fragments are part of a Japanese doll’s tea set. I am working on putting these pieces back together so that they can be displayed with their doll in the future.

by Serena Urry, Chief Conservator

12/7/2023

CAMConservation, paintings conservation, Weir, Twachtman, X-ray, hidden paintings

This small painting by American artist Julian Alden Weir (1852–1919) was donated to the museum by the artist in 1911.

by Cecile Mear, Conservator of Works on Paper

11/30/2023

Galt House Cincinnati, Emil Klauprecht, CAMConservation, works on paper, paper conservation

At first glance it is obvious the print has had a rough life.

by Obie Linn, Conservator of Textiles

11/16/2023

CAMConservation, selvage, Art Deco, fabric, textile conservation

We’ve got it all! All the width of this 1920s embroidered voile (fine soft sheer fabric), that is.

by Kelly Rectenwald, Objects Conservator

11/9/2023

CAMConservation, objects conservation, ancient egypt, scarab ring, bronze, bronze disease

Several small copper alloy objects, pieces of jewelry and articles of adornment, are all showing signs of bronze disease.

by Serena Urry, Chief Conservator

11/2/2023

CAMConservation, paintings conservation, Thomas Gainsborough

These three portraits by 18th-century British artist Thomas Gainsborough are in the paintings conservation lab to be examined for the British catalog project.

by Kelly Rectenwald, Objects Conservator

10/12/2023

ancient egypt, ceramic jar, objects conservation, challenging repair, CAMConservation

In the Conservation Lab, we are working on this large ceramic jar from Dynasty I Egypt (3100–2900 BCE).

by Serena Urry, Chief Conservator

10/5/2023

CAMConservation, paintings conservation, panel paintings

This small round painting, attributed to the studio of the 17th century Dutch artist Frans Hals, was recently in the paintings conservation lab to have its discolored varnish removed.

by Cecile Mear, Conservator of Works on Paper

9/28/2023

CAMConservation, Cincinnati Art Museum, collodion photograph, paperweight, archives

An interesting artifact has entered the museum Archives, courtesy of Archivist/Records Manager Geoff Edwards. This glass paperweight holds a small photograph of the museum and the Cincinnati Art Academy (now located downtown).

by Obie Linn, Textile Conservator

9/21/2023

textile conservation, Elizabeth Hawes, Flag Dress, before and after, CAMConservation, textiles

There are few things more satisfying than seeing some really dramatic “before and after” photos when a conservation treatment is complete! Conservation of Elizabeth Hawes’ “flag dress” or Geographic (1940) has wrapped up, and now you can flip through a whole album of “before/after” pairs showing the transformations of many of the flags that cover the dress.

by Kelly Rectenwald, Objects Conservator

9/14/2023

behind the scenes, objects conservation, CAMConservation, Jain Shrine

If you’ve been following our Conservation blog posts, you may have seen several updates as we carried out treatment over the past two years.

by Cecile Mear, Conservator of Works on Paper

8/31/2023

Raphael Soyer, prints, paper conservation, CAMConservation

In 2019 and 2020 the museum received three prints by American artist Raphael Soyer (1899–1987), the first of his prints to enter the museum’s collection.

by Obie Linn, Conservator of Textiles

8/24/2023

CAMConservation, textile conservation, historic childrenswear

The forecourt display case in the Conversations Gallery is fresh! A new rotation arrived last week, and it is practically aglow with summery white freshness. How does a 150-year-old child’s dress look this crisp and breezy?

by Kelly Rectenwald, Objects Curator

8/17/2023

Magic Mirror, CT scan, Ethnicon Endo-Surgery, Amida Buddha, CAMConservation

Last month we took our Magic Mirror to Ethicon Endo-Surgery for analysis to learn more about this ancient bronze object and the seemingly magical way it can project the image of the Amida Buddha under certain lighting conditions.

by Serena Urry, Chief Conservator

8/10/2023

CAMConservation, paintings conservation, Theodore Robinson, Impressionism, American Impressionism

We’ve had this painting by American Impressionist Theodore Robinson (1852–1896) listed for varnish removal for a while. That’s because curators and conservators know that Impressionist artists rarely varnished their paintings.

by Kay Horak, Paper Conservation Intern

8/3/2023

CAMConservation, paper conservation, cam intern, Léonard Gaultier

Over a couple of weeks, I examined, cleaned, and rehoused a series of sixteenth-century prints by Léonard Gaultier (circa 1561–circa 1630).

by Obie Linn, Associate Conservator of Textiles

7/27/2023

Ann Lowe, CAMConservation, 1930s fashion, textile conservation, Winterthur Museum

How would you like to travel in a custom “sleeping bag”? These three dresses designed by Ann Lowe (American, 1898–1981) are headed to the Winterthur Museum in Delaware for the exhibition Ann Lowe: American Couturier, snuggled in soft surrounds for a safe and comfortable trip.

by Kelly Rectenwald, Associate Objects Conservator

7/13/2023

CAMConservation, ceramics, CAM collection

We are working on some tiny ceramics!

by Serena Urry, Chief Conservator

7/5/2023

CAMConservation, paintings conservation, Thomas Barker, CAM British Painting catalog, CAM British Paintings

Another work recently conserved for the British catalog project, The Approaching Storm by English artist Thomas Barker (1769–1847), presented a challenge.