by Kelly Rectenwald, Conservator of Objects

3/27/2025

CAMconservation, mercury, objects conservation, mirror, Groesbeck House, gilded frame, 19th century furniture

Inside our objects conservation lab, this 19th-century mirror is once again standing upright in all of its glory for the first time in several decades.

by Obie Linn, Conservator of Textiles

2/13/2025

CAMConservation, textile conservation

How many different fabrics are you wearing right now?

by Obie Linn, Conservator of Textiles

2/12/2025

CAMConservation, textile conservation, Zandra Rhodes

This Zandra Rhodes robe has undergone a journey!

by Cecile Mear, Conservator of Works on Paper

2/6/2025

Alice and Carl Bimel, Shahzia Sikander: Collective Behavior, Indian painting, paper conservation, CAMConservation

My initial examination of the painting revealed that some of the paint was poorly attached to the paper support, so before the work went into the gallery, it made a stop in the paper lab.

by Serena Urry, Chief Conservator

12/12/2024

CAMConservation, paintings conservation, John Francis, still lifes

Basket of Fruit, a still life by American artist John Francis (1808–1886), was last conserved here at CAM in 1975.

by Cecile Mear, Conservator of Works on Paper

12/9/2024

The Sweetest Thing, Gee Horton, KMAC Contemporary Art Museum, paper conservation, Black on Both Sides, CAMConservation

In November I travelled to Louisville, Kentucky, to help install two drawings by Cincinnati-based artist Gee Horton at KMAC Contemporary Art Museum.

by Obie Linn, Conservator of Textiles

11/13/2024

CAMConservation, textile conservation, historic lace

*Warning: puns and silly wordplay ahead! If that’s not your thing, this may not be the pLACE for you!

by Obie Linn, Conservator of Textiles

10/10/2024

CAMConservation, textile conservation, 1890s fashion, Cincinnati Wing

In the textile conservation lab, a three-piece 1890s cotton muslin ensemble arrived for treatment!

by Kelly Rectenwald, Conservator of Objects

10/3/2024

CAMConservation, objects conservation, Cloisonne Tray, Qing Dynasty

The dark grime on its surface is thick and unevenly embedded in the layers of a degraded wax coating.

by Serena Urry, Chief Conservator

9/26/2024

CAMConservation, paintings conservation, Italian Altarpiece

After a very close and extended examination by our conservator , it seems certain Madonna and Child was originally part of an Italian Renaissance altarpiece.

by Obie Linn, Conservator of Textiles

9/18/2024

CAMConservation, 1890s fashion, textile conservation

You ever have had a project lingering around your house or work that just … bugs you? A thing that needs to be done if only someone would just DO it? This bodice was one of those projects!

by Serena Urry, Chief Conservator

8/29/2024

CAMConservation, paintings conservation, Constable, British catalog project

A few weeks ago, we posted about cleaning this landscape painting by British artist John Constable (1776–1837). The conservation treatment proceeded as quickly as we expected.

by Cecile Mear, Conservator of Works on Paper

8/22/2024

CAMConservation, Chuck Close, Keith Hollingworth, paper pulp print, Art Bridges, Denison Museum, Denison University, portrait, paintings conservation

Denison Museum at Denison University (Granville, Ohio) will show nine Cincinnati Art Museum pieces in different media from August 29 to November 29, 2024, in their exhibition Portraying Identity .

by Kelly Rectenwald, Conservator of Objects

8/8/2024

CAMConservation, objects conservation, Giambologna, Mercury, bronze, marble, scuplture

This week in objects conservation, we are cleaning marble.

by Serena Urry, Chief Conservator

8/1/2024

CAMConservation, paintings conservation, Constable, British catalog project

We brought this lovely landscape, Waterloo Bridge by British artist John Constable (1776-1837), into the conservation lab to be examined for the British catalog project. Not conserved for more than 60 years, the painting’s varnish is now noticeably yellow.

by Cecile Mear, Conservator of Works on Paper

7/25/2024

George Bellows, lithograph, paper conservation, CAMConservation, slant washing, John L. Sullivan

One of Bellow’s larger lithographs, Introducing John L. Sullivan, is torn in places along its right side; these tears could worsen with handling if not mended.

by C. Obie Linn, Conservator of Textiles

7/18/2024

CAMConservation, Rei Kawakubo, textile conservation

Wanting to do a little more analysis of this piece, I took the jacket back to the museum’s Conservation lab and created a toile, which is like a test version of a pattern used to study and perfect how an original flat pattern works.

by Kelly Rectenwald, Conservator of Objects

7/11/2024

Art Deco, CAMConservation, Joseph Urban, 1920s desk lamps, brass, tarnish, objects conservation

This pair of art deco lamps, designed by Joseph Urban, was last on view in 2022 as part of the exhibition Unlocking an Art Deco Bedroom by Joseph Urban.

by C. Obie Linn, Conservator of Textiles

6/20/2024

textile conservation, CAMConservation, historic upholstery, colonial dames, colonial furniture

It was time for the ladderback chairs in Gallery 218 to get a refresh! The chairs’ silk upholstery wasn’t original and over the years, while on display, the fabric had grown dingy and stained. Curator of Decorative Arts & Design Amy Dehan selected some appropriate, modern fabric in consultation with me, and I recovered the seats!

by Cecile Mear, Conservator of Works on Paper

5/30/2024

paper conservation, lithograph, Anne Bellows, George Bellows

To help this artwork look her best for CAM’s fall exhibition, George Bellows: American Life in Print, she stopped by the Paper Lab for conservation treatment.

by Obie Linn, Textile Conservator

5/23/2024

CAMConservation, textile conservation, 1910s fashion

Remember the blue dress from a few weeks ago? This week she’s back—with a secret.

by Serena Urry, Chief Conservator

5/9/2024

CAMConservation, paintings conservation, Sir Joshua Reynolds, British catalog project, John Steuart Curry

Boy with Grapes, by Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792), is the 45th painting examined in the paintings conservation lab over the last eighteen months, for the British catalog project.

by Obie Linn, Conservator of Textiles

4/25/2024

textile conservation, CAMConservation, 1910s fashion

This week in the textile conservation lab, I am working on a day dress dating to the 1910s. It has a very delicate silk net stand-up collar edged with a metal ribbon and stiffened with wire stays.

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

4/11/2024

British catalog project, Hoppner, paintings conservation, bituminous paint

This charming portrait of the Honorable Augusta Herbert, by British artist John Hoppner (1758–1810), is long overdue for cleaning.

by by Cecile Mear, Conservator of Works on Paper

4/5/2024

CAMConservation, paper conservation, Lesley Dill, prints, Tandem Press

Two prints by Lesley Dill featured in the recent post by Curator of Prints Kristin Spangenberg are now on view in Gallery 150. While preparing the prints for framing, I had the opportunity to examine them closely and photograph details that reveal the artist’s creative use of materials.

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.