Conference on oversized paintings

UKIC Paintings Section
Big Pictures:  Problems and Solutions for Treating Outsize Paintings
Starr Auditorium, Tate Modern, London   10.00-5-15
Guildhall Art Gallery, London
Monday 4 December 2000
5:30-8pm

A one-day conference addressing issues pertaining to the
conservation, handling, storage and display of outsize paintings.

Delegates are invited to register for this one-day conference which
will be held at Tate Modern followed by a reception at the Guildhall
Art Gallery.  The conference fee is UKP45, with a concessionary rate
of UKP25 for students, OAPs and the unwaged.  This will include
post-prints, which will be send to delegates after the meeting.
Delegates are also invited to bring partners, colleagues etc. to the
reception at a cost of UKP5 per person.

There will be both papers and posters presented at the conference
and the programme will be posted on the UKIC web-site at
<URL:http://www.ukic.org.uk>.  Please ensure you include your full
postal address with your registration in order to receive
post-prints.

In order to register, please send the following information:

Name
Educational establishment, if registering for a student place
Full postal address
Telephone number
Cheque made payable to 'UKIC Paintings Section'

Registration should be sent to either Sally Woodcock, Cressida
Harwood or Alexandra Walker at the following address:

    Conservation Section
    Guildhall Art Gallery
    Guildhall Yard
    London EC2P 2EJ

For more information please contact:

    Mary Bustin
    +44 0 20 7887 8061

    Sally Woodcock/Cressida Harwood/Alexandra Walker
    +44 0 20 7332 3023
    mail [at] sallywoodcock__co__uk

Speakers:

    The restoration of Caravaggio's Beheading of Saint John the
    Baptist
    Marco Ciatti
    Opificio delle Pietre Dure e Laboratorio di Restauro, Florence

        The paper will describe the conservation project carried out
        by the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence, between 1997
        and 1999.  It will focus on the repair of a long cut caused
        by vandalism, a lining system specifically devised for
        large-scale paintings and the construction of a new
        stretcher, using an innovative system to ensure continuous
        tension.

    Conservation of large miniatures on ivory
    Alan Derbyshire, Victoria and Albert Museum, London

        This paper will look at the conservation problems presented
        by large miniatures on ivory. These problems result from
        both size of the objects and from their method of
        preparation. Large, composite miniatures made from ivory and
        other materials will also be considered.

    The structural treatment and subsequent conservation/restoration
    of a series of large dynastic portraits of Louis XIV and family,
    on site at Chateau de Balleroy, Normandy
    Jim Dimond and Warwick MacCallum, independent conservators, London

        Many of the paintings had been lined and extended,
        presenting a complex jigsaw of seams and additions. Their
        conservation involved structural and cosmetic treatment,
        necessitating the development of a vacuum envelope lining
        system to enable the paintings to be relined on site.

    Cy Twombly: Big Pictures in a Travelling Retrospective
    Michael Duffy, Museum of Modern Art, New York

        The paper will focus on the treatment, display, and handling
        of paintings in the recent retrospective of Cy Twombly's
        work organized by The Museum of Modern Art. The treatment of
        two large works acquired by MoMA will be discussed in
        detail: Untitled from 1970 and The Four Seasons 1993-94.

    The problem of the seven foot door: transportation and
    installation of large paintings
    Ian McClure, Hamilton Kerr Institute, Cambridge

        The Hamilton Kerr Institute has treated a number of
        large-scale paintings, often from locations where access is
        limited.  The paper will discuss the practical aspects of
        both handling and conserving big pictures.

    Touring Robert Rauschenberg's 32' painting, Barge
    Gillian McMillan, Guggenheim Museum, New York (paper to be given
    by Paul Schwartzbaum)

        The paper will describe a safe, self-contained method of
        preparing, packing, unrolling and stretching this very large
        painting (oil and silkscreen on canvas). The system involves
        a stretcher designed in sections, with a backboard
        permanently attached to the inside. The painting is attached
        to the stretcher using Velcro instead of staples or tacks,
        thereby facilitating stretching and restretching and
        avoiding the repeated stapling of the tacking edges.

    The logistics of 'nail to nail'--moving large paintings from A
    to B
    Paul Hems, Momart, Professional Art Handlers, London

        Drawing on Momart's experience of handling large works of
        art, the paper will discuss issues of packing,
        transportation, handling and installation.

    A cold lining technique for a large-scale Dutch
    nineteenth-century painting
    Kate Seymour, Stichting Restauratie Atelier Limburg, Maastricht

        The paper will outline the preparation of a large-scale
        lining canvas, a vacuum envelope for cold lining, the
        investigation and replication of the original system
        attaching the canvas to the stretcher and the problems of
        dealing with large paintings within limited studio space.

    Guido Reni: The unloved painting
    Tina Sitwell, The National Trust, London

        The large ceiling painting of Night and Day by Guido Reni
        began its life as a ceiling fresco in Bologna but was
        transferred to canvas in the late nineteenth century and
        attached to the Library ceiling at Kingston Lacey.  Taken
        down in 1985 and stored until 1999, the early stages of
        treatment have involved a mobile crane, scaffolding towers,
        bridging platforms and digital imaging.

    The Battle with Trafalgar--Ship Shape and Bristol Fashion
    Valentine Walsh and Richard Pelter, independent conservators,
    London and Bristol

        The recent conservation of the panorama of the Battle of
        Trafalgar at the Royal Naval Museum, Portsmouth.  The paper
        will discuss the challenges involved in the structural
        treatment of a work in this format and the practical aspects
        of undertaking large-scale work on site.


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 14:29
                 Distributed: Monday, November 20, 2000
                       Message Id: cdl-14-29-015
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