Conservation

The Framery works closely with The Justin Hawkes Conservation Studio.

Museum standard conservation emphasies a sensitivity to period look. A 'new' look varnish for older paintings is avoided. A recipe (wax and ketone) is made by the conservator to produce the right look for the period of the work being restored. The restoration service Justin provides has a rolling programme for several country houses.

Click on these links to see some of the great work Justin has completed for some very happy customers.

This painting was purchased from EBay and needed a fair amount of restoration work. You can see how wonderfully the colours have come up after Justin's painstaking work.

This painting may have looked beyond repair but Justin's attention to detail and careful work has transfored it to its former glory.

You will see in the cleaned painting care is taken to keep the integrity of the 'look' of the period. In the before photograph you will notice the amount of dark cracks make it 'impossible' to enjoy the painting as it was intended by the artist some several hundred years ago. Selective small spots of paint are used to make the portrait 'readable' and visually 'coherent' again.

This painting required lining (putting on to a new canvas) as well as cleaning. The look of the surface is distorted as it looks yellow. This yellowing has been caused by atmospheric pollutants such as smoke and the degradation of the varnish. By cleaning the painting the colours are restored and the beauty of the painting shines through.