Mother & Child – 52×44 – Oil on Canvas
When a church in Scituate, MA came to us with this very large, badly damaged, and extremely old portrait painting, we initially hoped it might be able to be patched. But upon further investigation, we realized that the painting had previously been re-lined, and the tear had perforated both canvases. in fact, the old lining had failed and was lifting in several areas. Additionally, there were large areas of flaking paint in the bottom right quadrant and uneven varnish.
Before any restoration work could begin, the old lining had to be completely and carefully removed, including the bits of old adhesive on the back of the canvas. Only then could we re-line the painting with BEVA adhesive and then begin the process of cleaning , and inpainting all the areas of paint loss.
The result is spectacular, and the newly conserved painting will hang in the church for many more generations of the congregation to enjoy.
