ART RESTORATION

Art restoration is the art of returning damaged, worn and tired art works as near as possible to their original state, thus breathing new life into the art.

Not only does this work give a much-loved work of art a new lease of life, and increases your pleasure in the piece, it can enhance the value of your art too.

Art restoration is highly skilled work, best carried out by specialists in the field. The finest restorers carry out repairs so well that the untrained eye is unable to spot any of the restoration work that has been carried out.

It's very tempting to have a go at repairing or retouching a painting or picture yourself, but the best advice we can give you is DON'T DIY!

Don't carry out repairs or restoration on your art yourself unless you really know what you are doing.

There is more to art restoration than adding a few dabs of paint or sticking a piece of tape on the back of a torn canvas. Amateur repairs can do more harm than good and can be very costly to fix in the long run, costlier than if you had chosen a professional restorer to work on your art in the first place.

Moreover, art restoration is about more than simply repairing art. Conservation is a central principle in the restoration of art.

Not only will a skilled restorer repair your art, the care the restorer shows to your art goes beyond a simple repair to ensure that the art is protected and preserved against further deterioration.

Main Types of Art Restoration

While art of any kind may be restored, these are the main areas of art restoration:

Oil Painting Restoration

Tears and holes in canvas, and damaged or split panels can be repaired. Cleaning surface dirt, and removing old filler, restoration and discoloured varnish is often necessary before final restoration work can be carried out.

Craquelure, or crazing - a network of fine cracks - can also affect oil paintings as they age. Restorers use techniques which can lessen or eliminate the distracting appearance of craquelure, sometimes even by filling the cracks and repainting.

Sometimes a painting has to be attached to a new canvas (re-lined) if its condition has deteriorated too much.

Filling and re-painting damaged or missing areas of paint, and re-varnishing are techniques often used to complete the restoration and conservation of the work.

Restoration of Works on Paper

This is a particularly skilful area of art restoration. Old acidic backboards, mounts and glues can be removed before the restoration of watercolours and prints can be completed.

Work can be done to stabilise and conserve the paper that forms the base, or 'support' for the artwork.

Art on paper can also be cleaned, and damage and discolouration caused by waterstains, damp or mould can be treated, including the brown spots that can appear on the paper with age (known as "foxing") .

When reframing works on paper, it's important to use only the highest grade conservation or museum quality mountboards and conservation materials.

Picture Frame Restoration

Antique frames often require cleaning and repairs to missing sections of moulding or carving. Re-gilding is commonly carried out. Frame restoration is carried out as sensitively as possible so the frame is returned as close as is possible to its original state.