The Art of Conservation
There are many things that curators feel confident about: such as object handling, packing, basic cleaning, and creating displays. And there are some that we know we should never even think about attempting. Principally conservation. Conservation, in museum terms, is the preservation or restoration of an object, using the specialist skills of a qualified conservator.
Francis Downing of ‘Francis W. Downing Ltd., Fine Art Conservation’ is one such person. He approached North Lincolnshire Museums back in 2020 to offer a free survey of the oil paintings on display in Normanby Hall. Francis is an accredited conservator, which ticks the essential box for Normanby Hall Country Park, as an Accredited Museum, to employ his services with confidence. He is also the Chair of ICON (Institute of Conservators), so we can be sure he knows what he’s doing. He submitted a report, listing the paintings in order of priority and now – after a pandemic and the sourcing of funding – he and Giuseppe Downing have conserved the first two paintings in the schedule.
‘Matthew Pearson of Selby’ and ‘Mrs Bennett of Edinburgh’, although not family portraits, hang in Normanby Hall as an example of the sort of grand paintings the Sheffield family would have displayed in the 1830s.
Francis and Guiseppe worked to remove dirt and over-paint, repaired damage and re-attended old repairs, reinforced the structure of the paintings, and even did some repair work to the frames. Seeing objects return after conservation is very exciting for curators. We become so familiar with the objects in our care, especially ones on display that we see nearly every day of our working lives. The work that painting conservators do is jaw-dropping for us – we can notice and appreciate the difference immediately and spot all the features that have been improved.
For me, when they revealed Mrs Bennett after conservation, I audibly gasped. You could barely make her out against her background before – now it is like she has just been freshly painted. You can see the tones of her flesh, the folds of her dress, the gold detail on her books, and the blue sky outside.
Matthew Pearson is like an old friend. I have greeted him every day of my sixteen years at Normanby Hall, and I have always been captured by his friendly face. The first thing I commented on was his hair – I had never realised how wispy it is! His clothes are crisp, his cheeks are rosy, and – my favourite bit – he has a dimple in his chin. He looks even friendlier than before.
There are currently other paintings to see in their place for the ‘Inspired by Stubbs’ exhibition. Mrs Bennett and Matthew Pearson will be back on display next season, in March 2025.