Articles — The Conservation Center
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Saving A 10th Century Greek Codex From Water Damage

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Saving A 10th Century Greek Codex From Water Damage

After more than three decades of preserving fine art and heirlooms at The Conservation Center, we now have an impressive answer to one of the most the frequently asked questions by our clients and visitors: “What is the oldest piece that The Center has ever conserved?” Recently, a 10th century Greek Codex—which contains portions of the New Testament Gospels of Luke and John—arrived at our conservation lab, and we, admittedly, are truly impressed. This rare book belongs to Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, a Bible-based university supported by Seventh-day Adventist Church.

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Piecing Back Together A Family Heirloom, and Learning About The Past

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Piecing Back Together A Family Heirloom, and Learning About The Past

Here at The Conservation Center, we strive to protect and preserve objects that hold intrinsic value to individuals and families, not just monetary value. During treatment, we often uncover forgotten details about a piece, and it can mean so much more to our clients when this information relates to their own family members and heritage. In this way, we approach each and every object with the highest level of care and attention. Recently, Naomi Steinberg, an Associate Professor of Religious Studies at DePaul University in Chicago, brought us a badly torn ketubah that was believed to belong to her paternal grandparent’s. Our conservators were able to meticulously piece this document back together, and through this process, Naomi also uncovered a slice of family history.

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Gene Tunney, Portrait of a Legendary Boxer

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"Boxing is what you did, not what you are." That's what Nobel Prize-winning author George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) once said to the legendary heavyweight champion, Gene Tunney (1897-1978). Gene Tunney was recently introduced to The Conservation Center by way of his son, Jay Tunney, when he brought in a beautiful portrait of his father painted by family friend and Irish artist Sir John Lavery (1856-1941) in 1928. While Gene Tunney's heart was in boxing—a fighter Muhammad Ali called "the greatest of the old-timers"—the painting does not depict what you would traditionally expect to see in a portrait of a tough, prominent athlete. 

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EXPO CHICAGO/2014 Highlight: "Girl with a Spray Can" by Roy Lichtenstein, 1963

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EXPO CHICAGO/2014 Highlight: "Girl with a Spray Can" by Roy Lichtenstein, 1963

Girl with a Spray Can was first printed in Wallace Ting’s book 1¢ Life, often viewed as a compact visual manifesto of the sixties. Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein’s color lithographs were printed on pages 118-119. This piece offers a unique juxtaposition. The right panel of the diptych consists of a reference to the simple printing process of using Ben-day dots (which dates back to 1879). The left side of the diptych consists of a small segment of a comic-strip imagery for which Lichtenstein became quite famous. This piece is the first instance of Lichtenstein featuring a blonde girl in his works, iconography which now is considered some of the most desirable in his oeuvre.

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EXPO CHICAGO/2014 Highlight: Charles Cressent Boulle Clock

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EXPO CHICAGO/2014 Highlight: Charles Cressent Boulle Clock

The Cressent Boulle Clock is on view at The Conservation Center's Pop-Up Lab @ EXPO CHICAGO/2014 (Booth 113) from September 18–21.

Charles Cressent (1685-1768) was a descendant of a family of furniture makers and talented sculptors. As a pupil of André Charles Boulle (1642–1732)—the French cabinetmaker who is generally considered to be the preeminent artist in the field of marquetry—Cressent's work is characteristic of the Rococo period with adornments of feminine figures and motifs, floral Arabesques, and exotic animals. To combine the gilt-bronze elements of his unique style and to ensure the quality of his mounts, Cressent broke the rules of the French guild system and was prosecuted for practicing two professions in the same workshop—cabinetmaking and gilding.

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EXPO CHICAGO/2014 Highlight: A 19th Century Gateleg Table

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EXPO CHICAGO/2014 Highlight: A 19th Century Gateleg Table

The gateleg table is on view at The Conservation Center's Pop-Up Lab @ EXPO CHICAGO/2014 (Booth 113) from September 18–21.

This gateleg (folding) table is likely British or American due to the use of walnut and box wood inlay. Stylistically, it is a 19th copy of an original produced in the late 17th century. It references a simple, utilitarian style, but the flair in the marquetry nods to a later William and Mary motif. The table came to The Conservation Center with loose veneer, and missing areas in the turned legs. In addition, the previous treatment relied on heavily pigmented polish to disguise the poor quality repairs—which masked the decorative effect of the inlay and the burr walnut veneer.

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EXPO CHICAGO/2014 Highlight: "Jazz Singers," Archibald J. Motley Jr., 1934

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EXPO CHICAGO/2014 Highlight: "Jazz Singers," Archibald J. Motley Jr., 1934

Jazz Singers is on view at The Conservation Center's Pop-Up Lab @ EXPO CHICAGO/2014 (Booth 113) from September 18–21.

Archibald J. Motley was an African-American painter who is considered a major contributor to the Harlem Renaissance and New Negro Movements. These movements focused on the cultural shifts that took place after the abolition of slavery, resulting in an overt racial pride that promoted intellect and the production of literature, art and music. These new endorsements of the African American culture were to combat the pervading racism and stereotypes of the time.

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Uncle Sam Wants You: Conserving a Collection of Wartime Posters for Chicago's Federal Reserve Bank

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Uncle Sam Wants You: Conserving a Collection of Wartime Posters for Chicago's Federal Reserve Bank

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (FRBC) owns a stunning collection of 44 war bond posters that were created in the 1910s and in the 1940s to encourage public support of American troops. This collection serves as a reminder of the Chicago Fed’s important part in coordinating the sale of war bonds. In recent months, these vintage posters were cared for by The Conservation Center in preparation for a special exhibition mounted on the occasion of the FRB’s centennial anniversary.

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Not Your Everyday Dollar: Removing Adhesive Remnants From a Rare Bill

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Not Your Everyday Dollar: Removing Adhesive Remnants From a Rare Bill

The history of currency is the history of civics and commerce. As The Conservation Center learned recently while caring for an incredibly rare one-dollar bill produced in 1963, what can appear to be an everyday dollar can actually be a unique artifact.

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"A Day in the Life" at The Conservation Center: Summer Edition

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"A Day in the Life" at The Conservation Center: Summer Edition

This year’s cool Chicago summer months flew by fast, but The Conservation Center has been brimming with activities. Our warehouse currently has a record-breaking 7,000 pieces currently in storage, waiting to be conserved--keeping our expert conservators challenged by exciting new projects that cross many disciplines. Our "A Day in the Life" photo essay  in January allowed readers a behind-the-scenes peek into The Conservation Center team at work. We’ve once again compiled a series of candid images, capturing a slice of daily life in our work space.

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The Conservation Center's New "East Wing"

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The Conservation Center's New "East Wing"

The Conservation Center has always been a progressive organization—dedicated not only to preserving art and heirloom collections from the past (and in many cases, the contemporary), but also to embracing the future of a highly specialized conservation business. Now we're looking ahead to the next phase in the company's evolution: The Center is pleased to announce a major expansion within our building, two years after our relocation from River North to the West Town neighborhood in Chicago.

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Cleaning The Merchandise Mart's Epic "Merchandise Around the World" Mural

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Cleaning The Merchandise Mart's Epic "Merchandise Around the World" Mural

The Merchandise Mart, towering 25 stories at its highest point and occupying four million square feet, rests along the Chicago River as the epicenter of downtown Chicago life, culture, media, and business. Finished in 1930 and massive in its construction, The Mart serves as a monument to early 20th-century merchandising and architecture. Even after more than 80 years, this Art Deco landmark continues to be a leading retailing and wholesale destination, attracting people from all over the world.

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Pure Michigan: Framing an 1836 John Farmer Map

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Pure Michigan: Framing an 1836 John Farmer Map

Sometimes an artwork is not merely an expression of the artist—rather, it is a legal document, or perhaps a blueprint, or even a map. At The Conservation Center, we enjoy coming across pieces that are not only beautiful, but also informative. This was just the case with a piece recently treated for Battle Creek-based private collector, Greg Allen. The said piece is by John Farmer (1798–1859), who is recognized for his cartography of early 19th century Michigan. What makes his maps so incredible is that they serve as primary sources of history for this region.

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Bringing the "Foo" Back to a Very Lucky Dog

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Bringing the "Foo" Back to a Very Lucky Dog

Traditional Chinese culture places strong emphasis on happiness and good fortune. The character 福, which is pronounced “Fú,” is frequently associated with Chinese New Year and can be seen mounted on the entrances of many Chinese households worldwide. However, luck wasn’t on Mary Ellen Hall’s side when disaster struck her house last spring—which damaged many of her cherished belongings, including a bronze “Foo Dog” she had acquired through an antiques dealer. Fortunately, The Conservation Center was able to save this family treasure.

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Paper Conservation Anecdote: Prints by Henry Thomas Alken

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Paper Conservation Anecdote: Prints by Henry Thomas Alken

Hunting may be a fall sport—but art conservation is a year round activity. Whether he was drawing, etching, or painting his famous hunting scenes, Henry Thomas Alken (English, 1785–1851), judging by the amount of work he produced during his career, was always, like us, working. The Conservation Center is always thrilled to treat high quality works by artists such as Alken. Not only can we appreciate his skilled artistry, but we can also admire the humorous point of view through which he saw his subject matters.

Bringing a Grand 17th Century Tapestry Into the 21st Century

Bringing a Grand 17th Century Tapestry Into the 21st Century

When Marshall Kath, a private collector in Dallas, took note of a 2009 Sotheby’s Fine European Furniture and Antiques auction in New York City, he was looking for a piece that would spark conversation. Mr. Kath eventually purchased an attention commanding, 10 ft by 9.5 ft historic 17th-century tapestry that does just that. Titled A Brussels Old Testament Tapestry Depicting the Joseph Interpreting the Pharaoh’s Dreams, From a Series of The Story of Joseph, the tapestry was commissioned by either a royal family as a way of depicting a peaceful, serene life, or a church as a visual representation of significant elements of a particular faith; in this case, Jewish or Christian.

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The Conservation Center Responds to a Stormy Spring

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The Conservation Center Responds to a Stormy Spring

Blue skies and warmer temperatures had giddy Midwesterners basking in sunshine lately after one of the cruelest winters in recent memory. But spring has also brought stormy weather to the Chicago area, and mother nature unleashed a different kind of misery on local residents: flooding. Many Midwestern cities, including Chicago, have been on guard for excess water that lead to issues such as clogged storm drains. The Conservation Center's Disaster Response team is once again on the ground, reacting to many emergency incidents that have affected personal collections. On a recent triage, more than 15 Conservation Center staff members collaborated to save hundreds of family heirlooms from water damage.

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The Unicorn Gallops Again: Restoring a Truly Fantastical Painting

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The Unicorn Gallops Again: Restoring a Truly Fantastical Painting

A whimsical painting recently appeared at The Conservation Center and caught the attention of our staff members. Titled Galloping Unicorn with Rainbow, this playful work (artist unknown) features exactly what it portrays: a joyful unicorn riding on an infinite rainbow. Through the conservation process, we uncovered a beautiful story behind this piece.

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Paint It Mick, Andy: A Private Collector's Very First Acquisition

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Paint It Mick, Andy: A Private Collector's Very First Acquisition

Sometimes in life, a piece of artwork takes you by surprise and before you know it, you can’t live without it. Such is the case for Mark, a private contemporary art collector in Chicago, who is also a friend of The Conservation Center. Mark began collecting art in the early 1980’s while living in New York City. He recently brought his very first acquisition from “way back when” to The Center to be reframed—and the piece Mark brought us has such a heartfelt story behind it we couldn’t resist sharing.

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Expect the Unexpected: Recent Arrivals at The Conservation Center

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Expect the Unexpected: Recent Arrivals at The Conservation Center

On any given day, taking a walk through The Conservation Center’s 25,000 square foot facilities, with a 10,000 square foot storage space, is always quite an experience—because you’ll never know what kind of artworks and cultural objects you might encounter. Since our dedicated staff members are all art enthusiasts here at The Center, we love geeking out at the amazing items we work on every day. This spring, we have had the pleasure of either conserving or preserving some unexpected pieces. We’ve compiled a series of visual highlights documenting what makes The Conservation Center such a delightful place to work.   

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