WhatsApp usIt is very rare that any artwork of significant age has been left untouched since its creation. Over the course of their life, antique paintings would have been repaired and cleaned by various hands. By the time a painting reaches our studio, their journey may be hundreds of years in the making.
When a disaster occurs, our conservators are not only approaching the recent damage – they have to be mindful of past interventions and how this may affect their treatment methods. Whilst some old repairs remain stable, others have significantly been affected and require reversal by our team – who replace them with sensitive, modern conservation techniques.
This is the typical story of a portrait, inspired by the true accounts of historic paintings that we see in our studio every day.
The Restoration Journey Of A Portrait
1691
It is the end of the 17th century and Britain is in a period of rest after years of civil war and turbulence. King James II has been replaced by the protestant William of Orange and his wife Mary. They bring to court a flavour of Dutch art and design, influencing the portraiture of the era.
Godfrey Kneller is the Principal Painter in Ordinary, this means that he is the appointed artist to the crown. However, he takes on commissions from many aristocratic families and individuals – so many in fact that he has to create a standardised process of creating them all.
One of these portraits is of a young woman called Susanna Linley, soon to be Lady Susanna Belcroft. Her family commissioned a portrait from Kneller to commemorate the marriage. The finished painting is displayed in the drawing room of her ancestral home, Thornwick Hall. It remains there for the next 120 years.
1811
Over the last century, Susanna’s portrait has been gathering dust and soot from the open fireplaces of Thornwick Hall. Susanna herself is long deceased, she died of puerperal fever in 1702. Her family still owns the estate and have amassed great fortune through the East India Company – allowing the Hall to be renovated and extended. Susanna’s portrait is moved to the staircase to allow for a much brighter, neoclassical interior to be installed in the old drawing room.
Although the maids have lightly cleaned the piece, it is no longer in its best condition. When it is moved, the footmen accidentally cause a tear in the canvas. The discoloured and torn portrait is placed to one side and a local artist is called in to fix it. They patch the hole with wax and paint over the damage, they clean the surface but it is patchy as they do not have an effective method to remove all of the embedded contaminants.
1872
Susanna’s portrait has been displayed on the staircase for just over 60 years. The family has decided to move to the United States, having fallen on hard times in England due to bad business decisions and gambling debts. Thornwick Hall is sold and the contents are auctioned off to various collectors around the country.
The new owners enjoy how old and antique Susanna’s portrait appears; they believe it is fitting in their gothic-revival home. However, they do not like how much neck is showing as they are very conservative. An artist is called in to ‘clean up’ the painting and add in more drapery to Susanna’s dress.
The artist adds a satin sash, covering up the ‘problem area’ and whilst they are adding this in, they decide to retouch cracks and small areas of missing paint. They do this on top of the varnish layer and then add a second coat of varnish to try and ‘make it even’.
1987
The painting has passed through several families since it was purchased in 1872. By the 1980s it was re-discovered by a distant relative, who purchased it at auction and now displays it in the library of their London townhouse. The painting is in bad condition, the historic repairs have slightly distorted the canvas and the alteration from the past century remains intact, but not entirely in-keeping with the rest of the artwork (although this is not noticeable to the untrained eye).
The new owner enlists a restorer to clean the piece along with its original gilt frame. The restorer removes the varnish and notices that the alteration is coming away. Therefore, they only remove the varnish around the added sash. They have removed the retouching from the flaking area and paint over this with broad brushstrokes, going further to try and blend in their work. The painting is slightly loose, so they entirely re-line the painting onto a new canvas to help with stability. They also add another patch of canvas to the old wax repair.
2025
By 2025, Susannah’s portrait is valued at £24,000. A flood has occurred in an Oxfordshire home, causing widespread damage. Susanna’s portrait now resides here, owned by the children of the man who purchased it in the 1980s. She is affectionately called “Sue” and hangs in the basement wine cellar. Unfortunately, the damp conditions and delays in salvage have allowed mould to overtake much of the artwork.
Our team arrives to rescue Susanna and the rest of the artwork in the house. She is in poor condition, but still able to be safely restored. The water damage and mould has caused the old tear repair to fail, the canvas bars are warped and have signs of a prior woodworm infestation that has weakened them. The varnish layer is blanched – trapped moisture makes it appear white and cloudy.
The conservators in our studio undertake a full assessment, expecting an artwork of this age to have signs of past intervention and retouching. They are correct. They see the past that Susanna has been through with each area of the canvas. When they finally come to remove the moisture damaged varnish, they are given permission to remove the unoriginal paint.
This reveals her as Godfrey Kneller intended. The old and failing wax tear repair is restored with a safe conservation method – conducted under microscope, thread-by-thread.
“Sue” is returned home, much to the delight of her owners. She now hangs pride of place in the hallway. The family enjoys saying hello and goodbye to her as they come and go, she will be part of their life for generations to come.
Speak To Our Team
If you have any questions about how prior restoration may impact a damaged artwork, please contact us to discuss your project, no matter how complex it may seem.
As part of our service we offer a nationwide collection and delivery service as well as information on worldwide shipping to our studio. E-mail us via info@fineart-restoration.co.uk or call 0207 112 7576 for more information.
