Historic Murals Removed, Restored, Reinstalled – Minerva Teichert

Posted on March 27, 2015 by Scott M. Haskins

The first mural ever that I did art conservation treatments on was in my graduate program in Italy. The first week of school I was put onto scaffolding and sat down in front of a mural dated 1365 on a wall of a monastery built about the year 900. I sat next to Paolo Bacchin, a legend in international art conservation circles for work he had done for UNESCO on murals in temples in the jungles of Burma (now Myanmar). He was my instructor and introduced me to mural conservation.

Since that time, I have had mural restoration projects come to my labs from all over the United States, even internationally. Some of the projects have been high profile and others, like this project, were highly meaningful for a small rural community.

I happen to love Minerva Teichert’s work for the boldness of the style but also for her unsurpassable spirit and faith. Its amazing how commercially valuable her art has become within the affluent Mormon community. (Search historic LDS art or historic Mormon art) Such that these two murals were appraised for more than the value of the entire building they are located in!

The Preservation Idaho Award

LDS Tabernacle in Montpelier, Idaho

LDS Tabernacle in Montpelier, Idaho

The Tabernacle of the LDS Church (a convention center) in Montpelier, Idaho was built in 1918 and needed an upgrade to the systems of the building: new plumbing, electrical, sprinklers etc to bring the public facility up to code. Of course, with all the demolition going on, the two murals were at risk and so the oil on canvas’ glued to the walls were removed, brought back to our lab in Santa Barbara to receive cleaning and other conservation treatments (see video) and then reinstalled back into the original building.

Actually, the paintings were not original to the building but were added, I think, by Minerva in the 1950s’ when Minerva was in her early 60’s. Originally, they were painted, for a client in Wyoming, perhaps in the 30’s. That’s a supposition on my part, giving the mural’s some time to be installed in their original location, be part of that location and then for whatever reason moved to this location in Idaho. However, they could have been painted for a client that never took possession of them and then later the artist found this opportunity to have them installed close to her home town in a prominent location.

Here is a quick video of the removal process of the murals from the wall. All went smoothly and safely for the murals (which is why someone hires us!!). There’s a quick view of the work at Fine Art Conservation Laboratories and then we show the innovative anti-seismic reinstallation of the murals back into their previous locations. Perhaps people don’t think of eastern Idaho as an earthquake area but driving through the ancient lava fields in the area should give a clue. The architects and project manger of the work wanted the additional protection in case of this potentially catastrophic emergency.

All went very well with the work. It felt very satisfying to save and preserve this valuable cultural artwork and do something meaningful for this community in terms of historic preservation. I was also very happy to contribute to the saving of Minerva Teichert’s opus as she is one of my favorite artists of all time (Wow! That’s a bold statement.). I’ve been working on her paintings my whole career and ought to do a webpage featuring the art conservation projects of her artwork my labs have performed since 1978. Stay tuned…

The work of extensive renovation of the tabernacle received high praise from the community, the State of Idaho and preservation orgs nationwide. The Preservation Idaho Award named the mural restoration work as part of the Orchid and Onion Preservation Award. Here is more about that: https://www.fineartconservationlab.com/murals/the-preservation-idaho-award/

 

Leave a comment and click on the “Like.” Come back often. Ciao!

Scott M. Haskins, Art Conservator

805 564 3438

faclartdoc@gmail.com

Scott M. Haskins, Minerva Teichert, mural conservation, mural restoration, art conservation, mural conservation, historic preservation, Mormon Art, LDS Art, Fine Art Conservation Laboratories, Montpelier Idaho, LDS Church, Orchid and Onion Preservation Award, Idaho Preservation Award

 

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Posted in Historic Buildings - Construction Sites, Murals | Tagged , , | 39 Comments

Re-cleaning of 19th Century Salon Painting Gave Marvelous Results

Posted on March 7, 2015 by Scott M. Haskins

Cleaning a painting is the most common question we get. But interestingly, it seems that 80% of the projects that enter our doors are paintings that have been worked on before and have been damaged or have fallen short of the right kind of job. Such is the case with this wonderful, engaging 19th century realistic painting of a pretty girl all tangled up with a couple of attitudinal parrots. It had been worked on twice! Though the painting is in good condition, the previous cleaning just did not get the job done and woefully left behind a layer of gray that has muted the potentially gorgeous glow of this wonderful Salon Painting.

FACL, Inc.

The artist is Emil Villa (French, 1836-1900), Une Querelle (or The Quarrel), oil on canvas, 32 x 44 in., 48 x 59 in. including frame (not original but gorgeous!).

The cleaning of a deep seated grime or gray layer was mostly concentrated on the skin areas of the girl which resulted in a gorgeous glow. The red dress popped more and the background came a into focus a little better. But the unexpected benefit was the increase of light from the window; highlights were more natural and sparkly and the effect was magical. I have to stop, stand and look at the painting everytime I walk by it.

Villa was, in his day, considered a master painter, whose works regularly appeared in the Paris Salon. Villa shared a studio with Claude Monet (1840—1926) and Frédéric Bazille (1841—1870) and worked in the studio of Gustave Courbet (1819—1874) after graduating from the prestigious Paris Ecole des Beaux-Arts. This work by Villa was awarded an “honorable mention” in the Paris Salon of 1893. Titled both “The Argument” and “The Endangered Hairdo” it depicts an attractive young woman who inadvertently draws the anger of two exotic parrots. Like so many artists whose work is both comical and serious commentary (e.g. Honoré Daumier), Villa’s painting captures in a pleasing way the simple idea that some of lives most serious arguments are, fundamentally, meaningless. The figure of the woman and remarkable verité of the birds is a testament to Villa’s training both in the Academy and Courbet’s studio. (Several of Courbet’s works feature similar birds.)

Here’s a short time lapse video of cleaning a painting you might enjoy (be sure to give the video a Thumbs Up if you like it): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyjI3rgCcF0

And click here for a testimonial of a cleaning of another very nice 19th century picture (we’ll actually, it was 1906 but…): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qx_pt3P3_ywSpringville Museum Director, Rita Wright

Anthony Christiansen Fine Art and Antiques in Salt Lake City has The Quarrel by Emile Villa for sale at $145K. His galleries are really quite amazing! You will love to pay them a visit and wander. Its like no place you’ve ever seen.

Questions about this art… or other? Call Scott M. Haskins 805 564 3438 faclartdoc@gmail.com

Appraisal Questions? Call Richard Holgate 805 895 5121 jrholgate@yahoo.com

“Thumbs up” (a LIKE)  for this fun painting?

Posted in In Lab, Painting on canvas | Tagged | 1 Comment

Badly Ripped Gorgeous Oil Painting by Colin Campbell Cooper Repaired

Posted on March 5, 2015 by Scott M. Haskins

The people that did this had to not know that this painting in good condition was worth at least $75,000! I mean, who treat beautiful art like this? Well… maybe I should answer my own question as I HAVE GOT STORIES and true confessions! Well, anyway, here is the quick video of the painting’s resurrection and thankful return to it’s former glory…

Professional art restoration ethics and practice, painting conservation grade materials, art connoisseurship and expertise all contribute to the long term results of halting deterioration, stabilizing the trauma of damage, restoring the beauty and original nature of the artwork and ensuring the long term durability of the procedures.

So, do the art conservation treatments required for the repair of this painting add back the value to the damaged work of art? Is the money worth it or is it a good investment? All questions I hear often…

The first question to ask is, “What is the artwork worth shredded like this?” Well, not much… unless you know a guy who can fix it!!

So, let’s say it costs $5K to fix the rips and make it look perfect. Then how much value is added back? It is, of course, not in perfect condition even though IT LOOKS perfect. No one will pay the price of an undamaged equivalent for an extensively repaired work of art. Of course, the quality of the repair can make all the difference in the world.

So, the value depends. If you find the painting in a dumpster and you put $5K into it, I’d say you’ve hit a small lottery. But if you paid $50K for the painting a few years ago and it was your drunk neighbor’s champagne glass that went through it (and you don’t have insurance) then you are going to take a hit.

For a realistic info on the value of your damaged artwork, contact a certified appraiser. Call Richard Holgate at 805 895 5121 and tell your story to him.

I was the art conservator for the Colin Campbell Cooper Estate for many years and worked closely with Sherrill Hendersen, the artist’s grand niece. I have has been, in fact, responsible for the authentication of several lost valuable works by this artist. For another example of art authentication. In fact on this video, there’s an example of a hidden signature of Colin Campbell Cooper. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!! How about a thumbs up… on everything!!! Click here:

Contact info Scott M. Haskins 805 564 3438 faclartdoc@gmail.com
Appraisal info Richard Holgate 805 895 5121 jrholgate@yahoo.com
George Stern Fine Arts 310 276 2600 gsfinearts@aol.com

Posted in In Lab | Tagged , | 24 Comments

Art Damaged Over and Over…

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Scott M. Haskins

by Laura Kadi, Art Conservation Intern Laura Kadi Art Conservation Intern

When we think of accidents, we think of random, sudden events that occur at unexpected moments in our lives. Kids run around and carelessly knock into an expensive painting. A water pipe breaks, damaging all the homeowner’s hanging artwork. However, some accidents happen that, unfortunately, go unnoticed, for long periods of time. What could have just started as a small, fixable accident ends up creating more damage than it should have because it occurs where no one is paying attention.

This unfortunate incident happened to the owners of this painting below. The painting below was mostly water damaged, but also covered in thick layers of dust and grime. What happened to this painting was not the result of just one accident, but was the consequence of a build up of several damaging effects over a long period of time. Forgotten in storage somewhere, maybe water dripping from a pipe combined with humid temperatures and a dusty environment damaged this painting badly.

Painting damaged in storage

When the homeowners finally found the painting, this was the condition that it was in. Along with layers of dirt and grime on top of the painting, the paint itself had started cupping, coming off of the fabric!

Now, in a situation like this, you do NOT want to take matters into your own hands. If your painting looks dirty, don’t assume that all you need to do is wipe it down with a cloth. Don’t wipe anything off by yourself! Without the experience of the experts, along with the dust and grime, you could be wiping off the paint that is already cupping and popping off the fabric. Doing this will damage the painting even more as the actual paint will be lost from the canvas.

What you CAN do is carefully remove the painting from its current environment and bring it to the experts to fix! Look at the difference below between the top left corner, which has been cleaned by our conservators here at FACL, and the rest of the painting, which is still covered in the grime from when the owners found the painting.

Water damaged painting being cleaned

Above, you can see how our conservators are stabilizing the painting, pulling it tighter together to try to prevent any more paint cracking and coming off the painting.

Even if your artwork is not up for display and is being kept in storage, you still want to make sure it is in a safe environment where it is not likely to get damaged.

One of the most important things to remember is to keep your art in a place with stable weather conditions where it’s not humid and heat doesn’t fluctuate too much. Fluctuating temperatures will cause the fabric to “breathe” pushing the paint off and on the fabric, causing the painting to start cupping. Humidity can cause mold growth on the painting, which like on anything else, is a nuisance to clean.

Stopping flaking on a water damaged painting on the hot table

Remember that safe storage is always an important key to keeping your art safe and damage free! But if an accident ever does occur, don’t be shy to contact an expert, doing so can save you a lot of time, effort, and money in the long run! Trying to clean something by yourself is always risky and can cause more damage to an already damaged painting.

For more stories, tips and fund short videos, click here for our YouTube channel and press Subscribe!   https://www.youtube.com/user/bestartdoc?feature=mhee

Or, have you recently found a damaged piece of art that you want to get checked out? Call our office at 805-564-3438 !


Posted in In Lab | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Update Historic Paintings of California Missions by Edwin Deakin in the Santa Barbara Mission Archives and Library

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Scott M. Haskins

Art conservation treatments are in the process. An update is posted after the newspaper article below…

The restoration of 22 gorgeous high quality historic paintings of the California Missions by Edwin Deakin in the Santa Barbara Mission Archives and Library (SBMAL) are underway. Director, Dr. Monica Orozco, heads up the efforts with the help of Scott M. Haskins of Fine Art Conservation Laboratories (FACL, Inc.). This article by Elizabeth Stewart brings you up to date:

painting conservation

painting restoration

UPDATE

March 18, 2015

Painting conservation treatments have been proceeding systematically on a schedule over approximately the last 12 months. Two receptions/open houses have been held at the Archives to inform patrons, members and donors to the project and the response was very enthusiastic. At these receptions, completed works were shown next to painting that were yet to be cleaned, therefore offering an opportunity to compare. Art conservation staff was on hand to tell stories, explain processes and answer questions. Scott M. Haskins spoke to the groups of about 100 people at each event with background info on this wonderful collection of art and a review of other collections of paintings of the Missions of California by Henry Chapman Ford and William Sparks.

Videos of the processes are currently being made and a review page of the project on this website will be established in the future. The completion of the project is estimated to take place by the end of August 2015.

Questions? FACL and Scott Haskins provide the highest quality art conservation/ painting restoration services recognized nationally. 805 564 3438

Feel free to leave comments and “like” this page.

 

Edwin Deakin's Carmel Mission

San Carmello Borromeo Mission by Edwin Deakin

Open House to Review Painting Restoration of Missions of California by Edwin Deakin

SBMAL Reception for Edwin Deakin Mission Painting's Art Conservation



Posted in In Lab, Painting on canvas | Tagged , , , | 25 Comments

Preserving California History: Art Restoration of Historic Paintings of the Missions of CA

Posted on May 21, 2014 by Scott M. Haskins

Mission by Henry Chapman FordIf you are close to Santa Barbara this Thurs evening (May 22) a truly unique and special evening is planned at the very exclusive Santa Barbara Mission Archives and Library that will highlight important historical art of the Missions of CA. You are invited to attend the evening lecture by me, Scott Haskins, and to be part of the reception afterwards.

Fine Art Conservation Laboratories has been honored by being chosen with the art conservation of the irreplaceable and hugely important historical paintings of the Missions of California by Henry Chapman Ford, Will Sparks and now the complete collection of paintings by Edwin Deakin belonging to the SBMAL.

Interestingly, the Santa Barbara Mission Archives and Library is NOT the archives for the Santa Barbara Mission! Its actually the Archives for ALL THE FRANCISCAN missions that were build by the Padres! Its a rich and interesting depository of information.

Come and meet me and say hello! Let’s turn “Facebook friends” into a face to face meeting!

Posted in Historic Buildings - Construction Sites, In Lab | Tagged | 3 Comments

Rip in Painting Results in $350K loss in Value A Painful and Expensive Collector Care Lesson

Posted on April 25, 2014 by Scott M. Haskins

By Adrian DiUberto, Painting Conservation InternAdrian DiUbaldo Guest Blogger

Vintage oil paintings have always been collected financial assets. But value, and therefore the importance, is not only determined by how much it sells for. Many works of art worth little money contain our histories, myths, memoirs, and definitely our emotions.

A simple but largely ignored collector care tip for your paintings begins with knowing the safety guidelines for hanging artwork.  By “safety” we are talking about the safety of the painting. Well, but not entirely… if your painting comes flying off the wall in a hurricane or earthquake it could be the safety of your family that is at risk. Your paintings, and more, are in jeopardy when they are not hung properly.

The two pictures (top hole is three inches in diameter and the rip in the second photo is 12Painting with hole inches long) belonged to a painting that was originally valued at $475,000 in a private collection.    For no known reason, rumors say maybe a nail giving way; the painting fell off of the wall onto some wood furnishing.

Due to the painting being insured, they were able to settle a claim for full value.  The insurance company claimed the painting then sold the painting for salvage for $100,000 to another buyer.

The new buyer hired the art conservation experts at Fine Art Conservation LaboratoriesPainting with rip(FACL, Inc.) who were able to masterfully reconstruct the painting’s damage, and seamlessly fix the hole and the rip in the painting.  Then the new buyer took the restored painting and sold it for $275,000.

Some paintings can have a premium because they are in top virgin condition but there are very rare few artists who command this respect. Yet, you would expect there to be an impact on the value between a once big-ripped-painting and a never-ripped-painting. In fact, most often a small rip will not even change the value. But in this case there is quite literally one important piece missing that had an affect on the value changes:

When the painting fell off of the wall, the 3 ½” diameter piece of paint and canvas was knocked out of the canvas and detached. This piece, which contained part of the composition of the tree, was thrown away by the original owners!!

What can you learn from this story?  There is a list of things:

  1. First and foremost, hang your paintings securely. Click on this link for collection care tips on how to safely hang a framed item.
  2. Insure your most valuable pieces.  A line item replacement or blanket policy are two options of coverage.
  3. When something is damaged, don’t touch the damaged area, and definitely don’t throw any thing away.  If there are detached pieces, put them in a zip lock baggie and staple it to the back of the frame so the art conservator can replace the original pieces later.
  4. Also, it is important to get your art appraised as part of your insurance protection strategy.  Contact Richard Holgate for a certified appraisal 1-805-895-5121 jrholgate@yahoo.com

To learn more about what you can do to take care of your collectibles, download FOR FREE now a copy of Scott Haskins’ new multimedia $27 e-book, Save Your Stuff – Collection Care Tips and get a huge bonus from our launch partners!

Painting with hole

For a news article featuring Scott M. Haskins’, Click here: https://www.fineartconservationlab.com/media-room/art-restorerconservator-scott-m-haskins-featured-in-life-section-of-newspaper/

For art conservation and painting restoration questions call Scott M. Haskins 805 564 3438 or faclartdoc@gmail.com

For art appraisal questions call Richard Holgate at 805 895 5121 or jrholgate@yahoo.com

See short YouTube videos by Scott M. Haskins on art conservation related subjects at YouTube channel “Bestartdoc” Click Here.

See short do-it-yourself videos on collection care and emergency preparedness for art collectors, family history items, heirlooms, memorabilia at YouTube Channel “preservationcoach”

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Posted in In Lab | Tagged | 7 Comments

Maynard Dixon Painting Restoration, Art Conservation

Posted on November 15, 2013 by Scott M. Haskins

Recently, a wonderful cowboy painting by Maynard Dixon was rediscovered after being hid away from the public for the last 110 years. It was found by super sluth art dealer Steven Stern Fine Arts. Here is a quick 2min. video of the art restoration cleaning of the painting:

I’ve been working on paintings by Maynard Dixon since working with Dr. Wesley Burnside in 1978. He published the first book on Dixon.

Maynard Dixon by Wesley Burnside

Many of the Dixon paintings that are not often seen, like his depression era paintings, I had access through Burnside. Over the years, Fine Art Conservation Laboratories has worked on paintings by Dixon for art dealers throughout the Western US, museums and private collectors.

We like to publish tips for art collectors regarding collection care so let’s stay in touch! Sign up now in the upper side bar. We never sell our email list and we won’t spam you.

We meet and evaluate paintings with people at their homes or offices throughout the LA and OC area, Palm Springs area, Monterey Carmel area, Las Vegas, Utah. Call us!

Scott M. Haskins 805 564 3438

Posted in In Lab | Tagged | 1 Comment

Military Memorabilia of WW II – Artwork from the Coast Guard

Posted on November 12, 2013 by Scott M. Haskins

By Scott M. Haskins, Art Conservator

World War II MemorabiliaRecently we received a contract from the United States Coast Guard to first consult with them about the needs of a collection of 29 works of art on paper then to do the art conservation treatments that are so badly needed.

Besides the very interesting images done in different types of pencils, watercolor, inks and pencil, there are some great lessons to be learned by collectors about what NOT to use when sticking, gluing, framing and storing. The suggestions and tips I’ll make have an affect on value and long term preservation of these types of historical collectibles.

I’ve put together a quick video blow by of the collection of 29 items…

The conservation problems that afflict the entire collection mostly center around the use of Scotch Tape, masking tape, contact cement and acidic materials used for storage. Of course, as you might imagine, the artists were using what they had handy and archival materials where unknown at the time. Still, there is a list of never-to-be-used materials that collectors should be aware of today. See the illustration below.

Here is a photo of the back of an artwork that is the framing job from hell: 4 types of destructive tape; masking, packing, scotch and electrical. The adhesives from these tapes are soaked into the paper fibers so you can’t get the stain out and causes yellowing. There are historic labels on the backs of all of the work of art and as a collector, you can imagine the horror of tying to preserve a historic label covered in scotch tape. Adding to the dilemma is the yellowing and embrittlement of the papers due to acids.

bad tape on Coast Guard memorabilia

So, the lesson to be learned here is to use archival, tested true materials for storage of and treatment of your treasured memorabilia. If your desire to fix up or restore your collectibles yourself gets into anything dicey or tricky, call a professional for some coaching. At least find out what you might do to impact negatively the value.

Sign up in the upper side bar for updates on this blog and for tips to help you as a collector. We’re here to help. In fact, we’ll be posting more articles with examples of the work we are doing on this military artwork memorabilia collection so you can benefit from our efforts.

Get signed up (no cost, no spam, we don’t sell our list) and stay in touch also on Facebook under Save Your Stuff, Tips For Art Collectors and Scott M. Haskins.

Scott Haskins is the author of How To Save Your Stuff From A Disaster Home Edition and Save Your Stuff in the Workplace Office Edition (Morgan James Publishing, NY)

Scott M. Haskins 805 564 3438 Art conservation questions

Richard Holgate 805 895 5121 Art appraisal questions

Hit List of things not to use

Illustration from How To Save Your Stuff From A Disaster on Amazon and as an e-book (50% off)

Posted in Art on Paper | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Rembrandt’s “Night Watch” is NOT the correct name!!!

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Scott M. Haskins

Rembrant's Night Watch

Some of you may remember that Rembrandt’s Night Watch was damaged by a vandal with a knife a number of years ago. The art conservation of the damaged masterpiece made for a very interesting documentary (if you understand Dutch!) in which it was surprising to see that with the cleaning/removal of the very discolored varnish, the painting transformed from the “Night Watch” into the changing of the guards at noon day!!! And did you know that the painting is HUGE?!

For an interesting review of how it changed during the painting restoration click here.

Here’s an interesting twist on the famous painting: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/04/03/rembrandt-the-night-watch-flashmob-video_n_3005034.html?utm_hp_ref=uk-culture

I hope you found this as interesting as I did.  Hey! “Like” our website, would you please?

Scott M. Haskins

805 564 3438

Posted in Research and Authentication | Tagged | 1 Comment