Projects
Conservation/restoration of the oil painting ‘Portrait of Professor W M Law of Elvingston’ possibly by William Aikman (Scottish School), c1720s.
Conservation/restoration of the oil painting ‘Portrait of Professor W M Law of Elvingston’ possibly by William Aikman (Scottish School), c1720s. The varnish and paint layers were affected by water damage, which led to blooming and blanching. The tension in the canvas had slackened and the canvas was undulating. There were two small tears (one was patched) and several holes. The tacking margins had oxidised and were very fragile. The back of the canvas was extremely grimy with cobwebs. One wedge was missing and the wedges were not secured. The painting was poorly held in its frame and rested against a glass sheet. There were no spacers between the canvas and the glass. The painting protruded strongly at the back.
The glass sheet was discarded as it was too small to fit between the frame and painting using the inner slip as spacers. The useless patch was removed and replaced. An incipient tear and pinprick size holes were patched. The paint layer, back of the canvas and stretcher were surface cleaned. The varnish coat was removed. A grime layer between the paint layer and varnish coat was also removed. The canvas was removed from its stretcher and moisture treated to flatten. The torn tacking margins were mended. The canvas was strip lined. A loose lining was attached to the stretcher. The canvas was re-stretched, tensioned and the wedges secured. The lacunae were filled and retouched. The paint layer was brush and spray varnished. Paint losses and part of the blanched collar were retouched. Thin glazes were applied to the lower edge and bottom corners where the paint layer was blanched by the water damage. The back of the frame was cleaned. The frame was restored by a gilding conservator. Two labels were encapsulated. A wood build-up was added to the back of the frame as well as two blocks with hanging rings. Padding was added to the rebate of the frame. The painting was held in its frame with narrow brass plates. The back of the painting was protected.
