Our team of conservators frequently collaborate, and when a Japanese Butsudan arrived at The Center, broken and placed into three boxes, our Fine Furniture and Objects teams knew they’d need to work together to bring this masterpiece back to life.

Every so often, we’re given the pleasure of treating a true family heirloom – a recipe book, a treasured violin, or scrapbook of memories. When this beautiful photo album came to The Center in need of care, we were excited to work with our client to learn more about their family as the treatment progressed.

Even though we’re in the business of conservation, we don’t interact with wildlife daily – we usually leave the other kind of conservation to scientists and naturalists. When Elmer the giraffe needed treatment in our laboratories, we knew we were in for a treat! Standing as tall as a person, this playful sculpture was a welcome guest in the warehouse where he first arrived.

Watch this oil painting of the Vatican City transform before your eyes!

We were honored when the Maxwell Street Foundation brought in a treasure from a bygone era: a hand-painted pressboard sign attributed to Gus Korn, an artist who hand-painted the iconic Vienna Beef signs from the 1950s to mid-1980s in a shed behind the factory.

Horses have a special place in Chinese history. They were considered so important that during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, they were buried alive in the tombs of their noble owners. You have likely heard of the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum, where Emporer Qin Shi Huang went so far as to build an entire terracotta army of life-size war horses to protect him in the afterlife. When a set of terracotta horses and riders arrived at The Center, while nowhere as large as those in the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum, we knew we were working with something special.

Here at The Center, we deal with a wide variety of pieces: museum acquisitions, historical artifacts, contemporary collections – but sometimes the most special projects are the ones focused on family heirlooms. A recipe book we recently had the honor of treating is the perfect example: deeply sentimental, an homage to past generations’ day-to-day lives, and in need of preservation for future generations’ continued enjoyment. This book came to us from a family eager to explore its origins, once belonging to a (perhaps great) grandmother from England.

Watch our talented conservators work on a new project: conserving a Buddhist temple.

We asked one of our paper conservators, Lauren Luciano, to weigh in on just what causes the mat burn and fading we see occurring with many works on paper.

Sliver-thin, delicately cut, and masterfully assembled into breathtaking images and patterns; one does not need to know much about marquetry to understand the skill it requires. A process dating back thousands of years, marquetry is the beautiful result of years of training, perfection, and artisanship.

Brian Hieggelke, Editor/Publisher of Newcity shares a letter to the Chicago Arts Community.

They say good things come in small packages, but sometimes the package itself is a gift.

Written by Amber Smith Schabdach, Senior Paintings Conservator

Spring cleaning is a great time for reflection, so we checked in with our conservators to see what tools they use the most throughout their day. Here’s five favorites from Rob Kleeman, Senior Conservator of Furniture.

You might recognize her from our website and logo, but have you seen the story behind her treatment? Watch a time-lapse of the conservation of "Portrait of a Woman," the face of our brand!

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) is considered one of this country’s greatest presidents. He has been called America’s first citizen and Illinois’ favorite son. Of course, Lincoln’s words and actions — the Gettysburg Address and the Emancipation Proclamation, for example — are surely history-defining. But the objects associated with him are also crucially important for understanding his world, for experiencing his time, and for recovering his very person.

Ebony G. Patterson’s work exudes a bright creativity and cultural nuance; when one of her pieces, an artist book, was brought to The Center for a custom display solution, we knew we had a colorful adventure ahead of us.

We are all going through a very challenging time on many levels: the health threat of COVID-19, the financial security of our families, the future of our jobs, and more. This has caused me to pause, reflect upon the history of The Conservation Center, and consider how we might use our past to inform our future as a team and company during this difficult time.

Much like the gentry of centuries ago, we were enthralled when a set of miniature profiles were brought to The Center.