Gill St. Bernard TriptychTHE CONSERVATION JUNE 2015 THROUGH MARCH 2016

BY CHRISTYL CUSWORTH PAINTINGS CONSERVATOR LLC

Stage 1 Setting up. The removal of the painting from the stretcher.

Attaching the painting to roller tube with adhesive gauze.Brush and vacuum debris from verso.

Cutting tack edge free from stretcher.Rolling up.

Painting is stabilized on roller and wrapped for transport.

Stage 2. Cleaning, lining, repairing, filling and in-painting. This is the most time consuming stage of the treatment.Once the painting is back in the studio it is cleaned.

Removal of surface dirt & Cleaning Verso discolored varnish with organic solvents.

1. Old repairs are removed. 2. New repairs to punctures using original canvas from tack edge scraps.

New linen is applied to verso with a reversible vinyl adhesive. The painting is varnished with an isolation coat and remaining voids are filled with a reversible vinyl filling.

The voids are in-painted to match the original with reversible colors.

Stage 3. The re-installation. An acid free Coroplast panel is applied to stretcher to help prevent future punctures.

The painting is slowly unrolled and lifted into place. The use of Velcro strips hold the painting onto the tack edge while adjustments are made for accurate placement. Then the painting is tacked back onto stretcher.

Final touchups are made and the original restored framing material repaired and reinstalled.

Before After