RT CONSERVATION and restoration takes time, effort and lots of research. Kenneth Needleman and Peter Fodera recently showcased several conserved pieces and talked about the process of conservation. Photos by Rob Frehse.
THE FIRST STEP in conservation is to identify the "problems" with the piece through research and careful examination. Fodera points to a small sample area of the top sail that he tested before starting his work. Fodera also highlighted the cracks and lines on the right side of the painting, damage that will be repaired through re-canvassing and repainting. This piece is The Fred Warren, an 1865 masterpiece painted by the brothers J. & F. Tudgay.
THE NEXT STEP after testing the piece is to clean it using gentle solvents. Notice the contrast between the cleaned sky area and the dark and dirty portion of the painting.
THE CLEANING REVEALS individual areas of cracking that need attention. Sometimes, conservators are forced to use microscopes and touch-up brushes with only three or four bristles to fill these miniscule areas.
THIS REPRESENTS the nearly finished piece. Years of dirt and grime were removed and the cracks aren't even visible anymore. Each work of art is unique, of course, but on average a conservation job like this one takes four to six weeks.

ONE OF THE MANY tools of the conservator is ultraviolet light. Needleman and Fodera use the light to examine the most recent work on a painting and deduce what kind of work can be done next. Notice the brush strokes going from left to right and the smudged area on the lower left. Specialized tools give conservators crucial information about art pieces and their history.

NYC24 ALSO VISITED the studio of conservator Charles Von Nostitz, a former New York University Professor of Art History.
HE IS SEEN here working on refinishing the back of an old painting. The traditional wax backing is scraped off and eventually replaced by a stronger adhesive. Sometimes a mylar sheet is used to make sure the painting won't stretch or shrink. The crumbled wax is visible on the top of the canvas and the light, white strip of unscraped wax is in the near portion of the picture.