Articles — The Conservation Center

Profile: The Conservation Center's Disaster Response Team

Profile: The Conservation Center's Disaster Response Team

With 34 days of measurable snow and a record number of sub-zero temperatures, winter has been unbearably harsh this year in the Midwest. Glacial conditions have set the stage for broken pipes, floods, and fires. Consequently, The Conservation Center's stellar Shipping and Installation team has endured a hectic and demanding schedule lately providing disaster relief services. With winter finally slowing down and spring (hopefully) approaching, we caught up with Paul Kirk, The Center's Director of Transportation and Operations, in which he shared his team's experiences, challenges, and accomplishments during the past few months.

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Lilias Trotter: Missionary, Artist

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Lilias Trotter: Missionary, Artist

In the 1890’s, an English woman named Lilias Trotter sketched and wrote entries in her journals nearly every day for the last 40 years of her life. These small masterpieces documented her time spent in North Africa on missionary work. Three of those journals were recently discovered in Surrey, England and have been restored and digitized by The Conservation Center for future generations. Provided is a narrative of Trotter’s life and the challenge of tracking down these journals and sketchbooks as told by her biographer, Miriam Rockness.

More on Lilias Trotter >

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The Springfield Art Association Unveils Newly Restored Lincoln “Courting Couch”

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The Springfield Art Association Unveils Newly Restored Lincoln “Courting Couch”

More than 150 esteemed guests filled Springfield Art Association’s M.G. Nelson Family Gallery on February 11—one day before Lincoln’s Birthday—to unveil the Lincoln “Courting Couch,” which was newly restored by The Conservation Center. Erika Holst, Springfield Art Association’s Curator of Collections, gave a lively presentation of the loveseat’s history before guests got up close and personal with the sofa that sparked romance between Abraham and Mary Todd. 
 

Crash the SAA party and view pics >

Uncovering a Signature, Bringing an Artist to Light

Uncovering a Signature, Bringing an Artist to Light

Last spring, a rather enigmatic painting titled Portrait of a Man was brought to The Conservation Center in need of restoration. The owner, Andy Boyden, had purchased the piece from an estate sale while traveling in Liverpool, England. “I was attracted to the painting because it had the feel of an Old Masters painting. I loved the eyes, the sitting, the intense expression of this gentleman, and as an admirer of the works of Rembrandt van Rijn, I wanted to find out more about it.”

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"A Day in the Life" at The Conservation Center

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"A Day in the Life" at The Conservation Center

At The Conservation Center, we're passionate about caring for fine art and artifacts from around the country, right here in Chicago. So we thought what better way to show off what we do best by giving you a close-up look of "a day in the life" at our workspace through a photo essay, shot by two photographers in different styles. There are treasures and intimate moments everywhere to be found. C'mon in!

Staff Art Competition Winner

Staff Art Competition Winner

For a second year, The Conservation Center held an art competition amongst our talented staff--many of them trained or self-taught artists. With "Chiberia" and "Polar Vortex" engrained in our daily vocabularies nowadays, we thought it was only appropriate to incorporate the theme of winter and/or snow into their creations, whether comical or serious. We're delighted to share the winning entry from Alfredo Garcia!

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A Renewed Appreciation for Frank Zappa

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A Renewed Appreciation for Frank Zappa

What happened in 1961? John F. Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th president of the United States; “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” by The Shirelles was a #1 hit; and the non-dairy creamer was one of the greatest inventions of the year. It was also the time when a budding young musician named Frank Zappa discovered his artistic creativity and painted Horny. More than five decades later, the painting made its way to The Conservation Center, where we restored the masterpiece to its original glory. More on the “Mother of Invention” and how we conserved his work.

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We Came, We Saw, We EXPOed

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We Came, We Saw, We EXPOed

The Conservation Center team was on call during EXPO CHICAGO weekend (September 19-23) to assist dealers with unexpected art or framing emergencies during the fair. Our educational booth this year--which featured a magnificent Ellsworth Kelly work on paper and an eye-catching James Rosenquist painting, both generously lent to us by private collectors--brought in many of our old friends along with new audiences. See you next year, EXPO CHICAGO!

Highlights from TCC's 30th Anniversary Open House

Highlights from TCC's 30th Anniversary Open House

The Conservation Center's private reception on September 12 welcomed such esteemed guests as Roxanne Decyk, Christie Hefner, Richard Hunt, Tony Karman, Steve Koch, Arlene Semel, and Joan Steel to help celebrate our three decades of achievements. We'd like to thank all who attended and made our event a huge success!

Accolades from TCC's Advisory Board Members and The Center's Founder

Accolades from TCC's Advisory Board Members and The Center's Founder

Three decades of art restoration and preservation for clients and collections around the country is a pretty big deal, so we’ve taken this opportunity to have our distinguished Advisory Board members and founder say a few kind words about The Conservation Center and why they’re proud to be involved with us.

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TCC Restores a Treasured Cliff Dwellers’ Painting

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TCC Restores a Treasured Cliff Dwellers’ Painting

John Warner Norton, a charter member of The Cliff Dwellers, became one of the most accomplished and sought-after muralists in Chicago and across the United States by 1920. Earlier, however, in 1910 as Norton’s career and The Cliff Dwellers were both newly beginning, one of his first commissions titled "Navaho" became one of the private club’s earliest acquisitions of art. "Navaho" was recently conserved by The Conservation Center.

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Before & After Stories

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Before & After Stories

These images speak for themselves! Check out some recent items to come through the doors of The Conservation Center, how they looked by the time they left, and the stories behind the artwork.

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American Flag from the Fauerbach Brewery

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American Flag from the Fauerbach Brewery

At The Center, we treat items of great worth, historical artistic significance and shared cultural value. But perhaps some the most rewarding work we do is in preserving family heirlooms. These items very greatly from paintings to furniture and can be extremely valuable or purely sentimental, but all hold stories with meaning to the owners. We feel honored to assist families with preserving these items for future generations, and allowing their stories to carry on, and would like to share a recent story from one of our clients.

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