Volume 11, Number 2, May 1989, pp.17-21

Regional News

Hawai'i

Ros Westmoreland, Denise Domergue, and Joseph Hammer spent two to four weeks in the paintings lab at the Pacific Regional Conservation Center.

Janice Mae Schopfer began as Senior Paper Conservator in February. Janice received training with Robert Futernick and Debra Evans at the Western Regional Paper Conservation Lab, at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Last year she worked with Victoria Blyth Hill at LACMA on an advanced level internship sponsored by NEA.

Irene Brü;ckle, a West German paper conservator, will be at PRCC for 4 months. She is sponsored by the Carl Duisberk Society. Her year of study has included work for the FAMSF and the Brooklyn Museum.

On a New South Wales government sponsored grant, Jenny Dickens from Sydney, Australia is spending 6 months in the objects lab at PRCC after internships at CAL in Washington, D.C., CCI in Ottawa, and Conservation Summer schools at the Institute of Archaeology, London.

PRCC in enthusiastically anticipating the 1989 WAAC meeting in Honolulu. Mai tais, hula boys, and blue ocean. We look forward to seeing you all.

San Francisco Bay Area

Abby Hykin, conservation technician at the Oakland Museum since February 1988, will enter the Buffalo Art Conservation Program in September.

Tracy Power, Acting Assistant Conservator at the Asian Museum of San Francisco, has just completed condition reports on the 103 objects that will be on display in the upcoming "Metal Works of Asia" exhibition. This exhibition will be open from May 17 to August 17.

The IMS on-site surveys have been completed at the Oakland Museum and the conservators' reports are being submitted. John Burke and Therese O'Gorman will write a long range conservation plan for the museum, based on these findings.

Sarah Gates, of the Textile Lab at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco recently gave a talk on conservation of Anatolian Flat Weave Rugs to the McCoy Jones Rug Study Group, and Auxiliary Group of Textile Arts Council in San Francisco.

Leslie Bone, of the Objects Conservation Lab at the FAMSF, attended the March 1989 Ancient Bronze Symposium, recently held at the J. Paul Getty Museum.

Elisabeth Cornu has started conservation work on a large 15th century Spanish-Moorish polychrome wood ceiling at FAMSF. Two post-graduate interns from the Art Restoration Program of City and Guilds of London Art School, England, will join the project.

Julie Cunningham is currently working in the Objects Lab at FAMSF on a NEA fund frame apprenticeship in the conservation of American frames.

Joan Wright, Acting Assistant Conservator at the Asian Art Museum, is in the process of surveying a collection of 100 Indian miniatures. Basic repairs and rematting will be done in preparation for reinstallation of the Indian galleries in the later half of 1989.

Nancy Love, a senior at Mills College, is completing a one semester apprenticeship in the conservation lab at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.

Norman Grabstein, volunteer conservation scientist, is investigating visual examination techniques for identifying ivory from various species (walrus, elephant, etc) as well as their substitutes. The Japanese netsuke collection will be the first to be examined.

Inge-Lise Eckmann has been appointed acting chief curator in charge of the collections and exhibitions division of SFMOMA, where she serves as chief conservator.

James Bernstein recently attended a meeting in Richmond, Virginia on conservation training programs, sponsored by the Getty Institute. As chairman of the AIC Education and Training Committee, he and members Chris Tahk and John Burke are currently completing a new publication on conservation education.

Neil C. Cockerline recently served as a panel member to review work by graduating art majors. Neil lectured on the conservation of contemporary paintings in art history classes at Alma College, in Alma, Michigan.

Michael Dunn, former SFMOMA conservation intern and technician will be joining Perry Huston and Associates in the conservation of the Library of Congress Murals in Washington, D.C.

Anne Rosenthal, of San Rafael, was chief conservator for a recent conservation project of the PWAP paintings at Coit Tower in San Francisco. The project, which lasted from September 1988 to February 1989, was undertaken by the San Francisco Art Commission, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, California Preservation funds, and others.

Pacific Northwest

Jack Lucas, Lucas Conservation Laboratory, has nearly completed the restoration of two Edward Grigware murals which will be installed in the Cheney Cowles Museum, in Spokane, Washington. The procedures involved have been recorded on Lucas' new camcorder, and will be edited for viewing.

The Fred Meyer Charitable Trust (Portland) is providing funding for the removal and conservation of a C.S. Price mural in Pendleton, Oregon. The Northwest Film Study Center is planning to produce a documentary film about this project.

Elizabeth Chambers, Oregon Art Institute, will be attending Keiko & Roger Keyes' Conservation of Japanese Woodblock Prints workshop in Oberlin, Ohio.

Sonja Sopher, Oregon Art Institute, announces the recent acquisition of a computer, acquired through an IMS grant, to facilitate production of condition reports of the Institute's collection of 20,000 prints.

Sandra Troon, Oregon Textile Workshop, recently completed conservation treatment of a fire damaged flag from the Oregon State Capitol. Troon attended the recent "Chemical Background to Conservation of Textiles, Leather and Metal Threads" conference in Budapest, Hungary.

Barbara Roberts has opened up a private practice in Seattle, WA, at 2413 5th West, (206) 281-9090. Don Guyot will be moving the Colophon Bindery from Seattle to the Olympia area sometime during the Summer.

Jack C. Thompson Oregon Historical Society, recently completed production of a videotape showing how volunteers assist in OHS conservation efforts. Thompson delivered a paper to the TAPPI Paper Preservation Symposium in October and later that month, produced the videotapes of the 8th annual Guild of Bookworkers Standards Seminar, in Chicago. In April, Thompson gave a workshop on hinging art on paper with Japanese paper and wheat starch paste at the Oregon School of Arts & Crafts, and a paper marbling workshop at the Pacific Northwest College of Art. Recent acquisitions at the Thompson Conservation Laboratory/Istor Productions include another Macintosh computer, and an Amiga computer for use as a video character generator.

San Diego

Rikki Bjarnhoff has been hired as an assistant paintings conservator at the Balboa Art Conservation Center (BACC). Rikki has just completed a year study as a Fulbright Fellow with Richard Wolbers at the Winterthur Museum. She is a graduate of the School of Conservation at the Royal Danish Academy of Art.

Anne Ruggles, Fine Art Conservator at the National Gallery of Canada, is spending three months of career development leave at BACC. Along with Betsy Court, chief conservator of paintings at BACC, Anne is working with new cleaning methods, particularly on paintings, developed by Richard Wolbers of the Winterthur Museum.

Susanna Zubiate, pre-program trainee at BACC, has been accepted to the art conservation academic training program at Winterthur beginning in July, 1989.

A weekend program of conservation and preservation resources and methods was presented to the public at the La Jolla Antique Show, on May 19, 20, and 21. The show is held annually at the La Jolla High School gymnasium to benefit the school's Scholarship Foundation. Approximately 45 antique dealers from around the country had booths this year.

Several WAAC members participated with discussions and demonstrations of the sort of work they do. Staff members of BACC and Betty Engel and Gary Hulbert, of Engel and Hulbert in Del Mar, gave slide talks and answered questions on various days of the event. Will Chandler of Graham-Chandler, Inc., La Jolla, presented a lecture titled "Museum Preservation Concepts and Methods for the Private Collector."

Each visitor to the show received a pamphlet listing art history research facilities and art conservation resources in the San Diego area. Contributors to the pamphlet included the BACC, Conservation Materials, Ltd., and Sharon Shore, of Caring for Textiles.

Additional public presentations were made by Patrick W. Edwards, proprietor of Antique Refinishers of San Diego, who discussed differences between 18th and 19th century upholstery methods and demonstrated 20th century adaptations of period methods. Linda Boone, a specialist in period millinery and costume techniques and antique textile consolidation demonstrated textile conservation mounting methods.

The event was coordinated and the Resources pamphlet was assembled by Will Chandler and Margaret Still, ASID, of the Antique Show Committee.

Greater Los Angeles/Santa Barbara

Brian Considine was appointed Head Conservator of Decorative Arts and Sculpture at the J. Paul Getty Museum on January 2, 1989. He succeeds Barbara Roberts in that position. He will be teaching a course in polychrome sculpture conservation in Rio de Janeiro this June. The course is sponsored by the Getty Conservation Institute's training program.

Chandra Reedy will be leaving the West Coast and her position as Associate Conservation Scientist at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art sometime this summer to take a new position as Assistant Professor in the Art Conservation Program at the University of Delaware. She will be primarily contributing to the development and implementation of the new Ph.D. program in conservation research, as well as teaching in the areas of technical studies of art objects and research design, experimental design, and statistical analysis in conservation research. She hopes her friends and colleagues on the West Coast will stop by to visit when they are in the vicinity of Delaware.

Linda Strauss has been appointed Associate Conservator of Decorative Arts and Sculpture at the Getty Museum.

Eileen Sadoff is working as an Assistant for Conservation Research with Eric Hansen, Associate Scientist, at the Getty Conservation Institute.

Toby Raphael is in Los Angeles for 7 months as a Fellow in the Training Program at the Getty Conservation Institute. He is developing instructional material on the conservation of ethnographic skin and leather artifacts. Toby is on leave from the National Park Service where he works as a conservator of ethnographic and historic materials. Fredy Caballero of Peru has joined the staff of Fine Art Conservation Laboratories as assistant conservator. He brings to FACL over eleven years of conservation experience in Peru, Puerto Rico and the United States. Among his more notable projects in Peru is the restoration of twelve life sized paintings of Apostles by Francisco de Zurbaran. In a special year-long appointment by the National Institute of Cultural Property in Peru, Mr Caballero was sent to Puerto Rico in 1985 where he worked on Rufino Tamayo's large masterwork Prometeo. Prior to moving to Santa Barbara, he worked at the Rocky Mountain Regional Conservation Center in Denver, Colorado.

Gordon Hanlon, formerly of the Victoria and Albert Museum, has completed his internship in the Department of Decorative Arts and Sculpture at the Getty Museum. He has been hired as Assistant Conservator in that department.

Indee Brooke, Paintings Conservator, is now working with James L. Greaves at Conservation Services in Santa Monica, California. Indee formerly worked in the laboratories at The Detroit Institute of Arts and she was also Wilhelm de Kooning's personal paintings conservator.

Michael Blocher, a ceramics conservator who owns his own business in Munich, West Germany, has been visiting Bradywicks in Santa Barbara. He and the conservation staff of Bradywicks are exchanging information concerning materials and techniques employed in the conservation and restoration of porcelain.

The Objects Conservation Lab at LACMA is pleased to announce that Marie Svoboda is now interning four days a week. She is concentrating on the treatment of Art and Crafts decorative arts and also ancient bronzes.

Rosa Lowinger, of the Sculpture Conservation Studio in Santa Monica, has two new assistants, Alison Buckles and Caitlin Horowitz. Rosa's studio, which does sculpture and decorative art conservation, has taken on a project concerning the long-term conservation problems of the Watts Towers.

The South Coast Fine Arts Conservation Center, in Santa Barbara, welcomes Patricia Demangate as their new apprentice. Patricia studied at the University of Mexico City, Casa de la Cultura in Celaya, Guanajuato, and the Instituto Allende in San Miguel Allende, Guanajuato.

The Documentation Program at the Getty Conservation Institute is pleased to welcome Valerie Greenhouse as new assistant editor for Art and Archaeology Technical Abstracts.

In early May 1989, Jo Hill completed an eight-month pre-training internship in textile conservation at LACMA and transferred to objects conservation. She will be working on a large scale project, the Berg Mosaic, as well as other objects from the ancient art collection at LACMA. Jo will continue working with Sharon Shore at Caring for Textiles and with Glenn Wharton, Objects Conservator. She plans to apply for admittance to a graduate conservation program in the spring of 1990.

The Scientific Program at GCI has two new employees. Shin Maekawa is a Senior Research Fellow and Dawn Muszynski is a Research Assistant.

Paula Volent participated in the recent Suction Table Conference in Washington, D.C.

Graham Powell, a Conservator in the Decorative Arts Department at the Getty, will be giving a talk at the AIC Conference in Cincinnati on machine molding with a French head for duplicating traditional moldings.

A UCLA Extension course, "Issues and Controversy in Conservation," is being taught by Jerry Podany, Head Conservator of Antiquities at the Getty, with: Andrea Rothe, Head Conservator of Paintings at the Getty; Nicholas Stanley Price, Training Program Officer at the Getty Conservation Institute; John Sandy, Grants Program Manager at the Getty Trust; Bud Goldstone, Engineer/Consultant; Sharon Blank, Objects Conservator at LACMA; Denise Domergue, Paintings Conservator of Conservation of Paintings, Ltd.; Avgi Tzakou, an architect with the Ministry of Culture in Greece; and Jeffrey Maish, Assistant Conservator of Antiquities at the Getty. All are assisting in the teaching of the course which is running from April through June.

Jeffrey Maish is heading for Tihuanaco, Bolivia, in July to assist in a short course on archaeological conservation for conservators in South America.

Andreas Georgiades was Visiting Conservator in the Antiquities Department at the Getty from the National Museum in Nicosia, Cyprus, in March and April.

James Evans, of the Department of Photography at the Getty, attended the six-week photographic conservation block at the Winterthur Training Program in Delaware in April and May. He worked and studied with Debbie Hess Norris, the Photography Conservator there.

Andrea Rothe, Head paintings Conservator at the Getty, participated in a fresco restoration symposium at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, March 10th and 11th. He also joined James Greaves, Paintings Conservator in private practice, and David Bull, Head Paintings Conservator at the National Gallery, in advising the Huntington on conservation problems with Reynolds' Blue Boy.

Carl Grimm, Visiting Conservator in Paintings at the Getty, will be giving a paper at the AIC Conference in Cincinnati in which he discusses the conservation and restoration of the Getty's Guilio Romano, Birth of Bacchus.

In April, Deborah Evetts, designer bookbinder and Conservator/Administrator at the Pierpont Morgan Library traveled to the west coast on a lecture tour. Besides speaking to groups in Seattle and the San Francisco area, she addressed an audience of conservators and bibliophiles in Los Angeles. Her lecture-slide presentation on "Current North American Bookbinders" was hosted by the Getty Center Library and held at the Getty Conservation Institute.

The Workman and Temple Family Homestead in the City of Industry, California, now has a textile wash table, thanks to the help of Catherine McLean, Textile Conservator at LACMA, and Harvey Morris, a very skillful carpenter. Sharon Gordon Donnan, Textile Conservator for the Homestead, is responsible for the conservation of their collection of 1920's costumes and textiles for the restored Casa Nueva.

Joanne Page recently lead a workshop at the Homestead where she taught a group of skilled volunteers how to clean works of art on paper using grated vinyl erasers.

Sharon Donnan has also produced a 21 minute video on the manufacture of the ikat reboso (fringed shawls) of Mexico. It will be available early next year.

At Conservation of Paintings, Ltd., a large work of art on paper (144" x 144") by Jonathan Barofsky was successfully lined, working in collaboration with Aitchison and Watters. The challenging project included the use of wheat starch paste and a high quality machine-made Japanese paper. It was stretch dried and flattened in a two-phase procedure. Belonging to the University Art Museum at the University of California, Santa Barbara, the project was supported by a grant from the NEA. The staff at South Coast Fine Arts Conservation Center in Santa Barbara has just completed extensive testing and documentation for the future conservation of the reredos in the Serra Chapel in Mission San Juan Capistrano. Last year the center completed a similar project at San Gabriel Mission.

Chris Stavroudis presented an informal talk, "Permanency for your Art: The Cans and Can'ts of Art Conservation" at the Conejo Valley Art Museum in Thousand Oaks in April.

Rocky Mountain Region

The Rocky Mountain Regional Conservation Center (RMRCC) is pleased to announce the appointment of two new technicians. Mary Crewe Biefel has replaced Kathy Perron as Textiles Handsewing Assistant in the Textiles Sub-department; Kathy moved recently to Washington, D.C. Marianne May Koshak has replaced Don Kubek as Ethnographic Materials Technician in the Objects Sub-department. Long-range plans to expand the professional conservation capability at the RMRCC are continuing. After July 1, the Center expects to employ an assistant/associate paintings conservator in the Paintings Sub-department and a second associate objects conservator in the Objects Sub-Department. Individuals interested in being considered for these positions should send a resume and references to David Shute, RMRCC, 2420 South University Boulevard, Denver, CO 80208.

Effective July 1, 1989, two RMRCC conservators will be receiving promotions. Assistant Objects Conservator Gina Laurin is being promoted to the position of Associate Objects Conservator, and Associate Textiles Conservator Terri Schindel is being promoted to the position of Conservator.

David Bauer, Associate Paintings Conservator, Western Center for the Conservation of Fine Arts, delivered a slide lecture on January 31, entitled "Art Conservation--Fakes and Forgeries." The presentation was the first of a series of fine art seminars offered by Amparo Gallery and Guaranty Bank in Denver, Colorado.

Mr. Bauer also addressed the Mountain States Chapter of the Professional Picture Framers Association on March 16 in Denver. His topic focused on proper framing methods and identifying structural problems in paintings.

Jeanne Brako, Art Conservation Services of Colorado, Inc., has been working on-site at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City on a collection of African artifacts.

Ms. Brako's article, "Preserving Your Needlework," will be published in June in the American Needlework Guild's magazine.

M. Randall (Randy) Ash has postponed her Fulbright Scholarship to South America until the Fall of 1989. She will return to RMRCC after a four to five month leave to continue as Head of Paintings Conservation.

Carmen Bria, Chief Paintings Conservator, WCCFA, conducted an annual collection survey at the Wildlife of the American West Art Museum in Jackson, Wyoming, on February 18.

Mr. Bria also performed a paintings survey at the Koshare Indian Museum in La Junta, Colorado, in February. While on-site, he conducted a handling and framing workshop for museum staff and addressed two of La Junta's civic groups at luncheon meetings, speaking on the importance of community support for conservation.

RMRCC Director and Chief of Conservation, Charles G. (Carl) Patterson attended the Earth Sciences Course, sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution's Conservation Analytical Laboratory, between April 10 and 14, 1989.

Bob Inge, paper conservator, is currently preserving the Alfred Packer papers for the Hinsdale County Court in Colorado. Among the manuscripts is Packer's hand-written confession dating to the Winter of 1873 and records from the famous trial held in Lake City circa 1883.

Mr. Inge recently completed a four-year project to restore and preserve the archives of Mrs. Baird's Bread Company, the largest privately-owned bread company in the world.

WCCFA was the successful bidder in a survey of the Art in Public Places collection of the State of Colorado. The project, being conducted by the Colorado Council for the Arts and Humanities, requires cataloging, numbering and surveying 175 works of art throughout the state to take place this summer.

The U.S. General Services Administration has awarded WCCFA a contract to conserve three murals from the Denver Federal Center. The paintings--two by Frank Mechau and the third by Warren E. Rollins--were commissioned in the mid-30's through the Federal Arts Program.

WAAC Regional Reporters

Anita Noennig has been a regional reporter for the San Francisco Bay area since the February 1982 (Vol 4, no 1) issue of the WAAC Newsletter, so it is understandable that the position has lost a little of its shine. The WAAC Board and the editors wish to thank Anita for her years of contributions to the Newsletter.

Many thanks are due to: Carol Kenyon, Paintings Conservator of South Coast Fine Arts Conservation Center in Santa Barbara; Nancy Yocco, Paper Conservator in the Drawings Department at The Getty; and Mary Reinsch-Chase, of Book Conservation at the Getty Center for reporting on areas normally covered by Glenn Wharton. Glenn was visiting China (see "Conferences in Review") in April.

Regional News is gathered by the WAAC Regional Reporters listed below. Individual WAAC members are encouraged to contribute regional news items, or items for "Technical Exchange", "Conferences in Review", or any of the other regular WAAC columns. Please contact a regional reporter, the Column Editor/WAAC vice-president, Mark Watters, 6277 Ivarene Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90068, (213) 463-0822, who coordinates this section of the newsletter, or the Editor.

The WAAC Regional Reporters are: (listed arbitrarily)

Hawai'i
Jane Bassett, PRCC, Bishop Museum, P.O. Box 19000-A, Honolulu, HI, 96817, (808) 848-4114.

Greater Los Angeles/Santa Barbara
Catherine McLean, Conservation Center, LACMA, 5905 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036, (213) 857-6169.

and

Glenn Wharton, Private Conservator, 549 Hot Springs Rd., Santa Barbara, CA 93108, (805) 565-3639 or (213) 397-4077.

Oregon & Washington
Jack Thompson, Thompson Conservation Lab, 1417 N.W. Everett, Portland, OR 97209, (503) 248-0046.

San Diego
Marc Harnly, BAAC, P.O. Box 3755, San Diego, CA 92103, (619) 236- 9702.

Rocky Mountains
Connie Mohrman, WCCFA, 1225 Santa Fe Drive, Denver, CO 80204, (303) 573-1973.

and

David A. Shute, RMRCC, University of Denver, 2420 South University Blvd., Denver, CO 80208, (303) 733-2712.

Arizona
Gloria Fraser Giffords, 2859 N. Soldier Trail, Tucson, AZ 85749, (602) 749-4070.

San Francisco Bay
Therese O'Gorman, Oakland Museum, History Dept., 1000 Oak St., Oakland, CA 94607, (415) 273-3842.

and

Judith Ann Reiniets, 2936-B Lyon St., San Francisco, CA 94123, (415) 931-5346.