Here's a question for the list.  When people ask your opinion, as a  
museum professional, about something like an appropriate treatment  
for their paintings, do you find that they quite often ignore it?    
For example, in this case I expressed doubts about the  
appropriateness of the treatment, suggested that they ask lots of  
questions about methods and materials to be used, tell the  
practitioner that they needed to get board approval and I would then  
help them to decide whether it was the right course of action.  And I  
offered to help them find a qualified conservation professional --  
even e-mailed them a list from the AIC web page.  Instead they  
authorized this treatment and left the paintings because "they  
sounded like they knew what they were talking about."  I wonder why  
that is?


On Aug 12, 2007, at 10:27 PM, Marc A Williams wrote:

> My 2-c:
>
> I agree with what David said.  The other problem with certain kinds  
> of oils is that they may not fully oxidize or dry, remaining oily,  
> softening underlying varnish or paint layers and entrapping dust  
> and dirt, creating a real mess.  Oils are one of the worst products  
> that can be used for preservation of painted, finished and  
> decorative surfaces.  I never use them.  Period.
>
> The other issue is that any coating or treatment will seal in  
> existing dirt if it is not properly cleaned first.  Then, the dirt  
> is much more difficult and more expensive to remove in the future.   
> I never varnish or otherwise coat a dirty surface.
>
> The treatments you mention, if one ignores their potentially  
> devastating effect on the paintings, of course do nothing for the  
> losses requiring inpainting.  Hopefully, anyone that would consider  
> using the aforementioned products on a painting has enough sense  
> not to attempt inpainting, but I doubt it.
>
> I know doing nothing is difficult for many people, but doing the  
> wrong thing is much, much worse than doing nothing.  I would  
> suggest that the money she would spend for the inappropriate  
> treatment would be better applied for a partial treatment by a real  
> conservator.  Conservators do not have to do a complete treatment.   
> One may be able to stabilize the areas of loss and do a quick  
> cleaning of dirt, making the paintings look better, without  
> creating any additional damage now or in the future.
>
> She may be surprised to find that a qualified conservator lives  
> closer than she thinks, she just doesn't know it.  The American  
> Institute for Conservation (AIC) in Washington, DC maintains a  
> referral list that anyone can access.  Otherwise, doing nothing is  
> the best thing she can do.
>
> Marc
>
> American Conservation Consortium, Ltd.
>     4 Rockville Road
>     Broad Brook, CT 06016
>     www.conservator.com
>     860-386-6058
>
> *Collections Preservation Consultation
> *Conservation Assessments & Surveys
> *Low-Tech Environmental Control
> *Moisture Management Solutions
> *Collections in Historic Structures
> *Collections Care Grant Preparation
> *Conservation Treatment of:
>     Furniture
>     Painted Wood
>     Horse-Drawn Vehicles
>     Architectural Interiors
>
> Marc A. Williams, President
>     MS in Art Conservation, Winterthur Museum Program
>     Former Chief Wooden Object Conservator, Smithsonian Institution
>     Fellow, American Institute for Conservation (AIC)
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sarah Wood-Clark"  
> <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Sunday, August 12, 2007 11:45 AM
> Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Painting Conservation
>
>
>> Hello All,
>>
>> I have what may be a dumb question, but here goes...a friend has  
>> a  couple of nice aging oil paintings (early-mid this century)  
>> that need  some attention (cleaning and inpainting), she lives in  
>> a rural area  and does not have access geographically or budget- 
>> wise to painting  conservators and has turned them over to someone  
>> who has promised to  go over them with Salamander Oil and varnish  
>> them. I don't know what  varnish, and I seem to remember earlier  
>> in my career equating  salamander oil with snake oil or worse.   
>> What does this stuff  actually do?  Will it harm the painting?
>>
>> Oh, thank you in advance.
>>
>> Sarah
>>
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If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).