September 1998 Volume 20 Number 3

Regional News

GREATER LOS ANGELES AND SANTA BARBARA

Susan R. Schmalz will continue for a second year as a Mellon Fellow in LACMA's Textile Conservation Lab, supervised by Catherine McLean and Cara Varnell. Terry Schaeffer recently completed an extensive report on a literature search and evaluation of the possible effects of photoflash and reprographic light sources on art and archival materials, for the Getty Conservation Institute.

In April, Victoria Blyth-Hill spent a week in Istanbul, Turkey, surveying and treating a private collection of Ottoman calligraphy. Her work was in conjunction with an exhibition of Ottoman calligraphy co-curated by LACMA and the Metropolitan. The exhibition will open in Los Angeles in February of 1999. Chail Topping, artist and Paper Conservation Technician, had a large installation of her ceramic wall pieces on view in a public space in Santa Barbara, from May 11-July 11, 1998. The mid-run opening, on Saturday 6/20, brought many friends and family to enjoy her first solo exhibition.

John Hirx, Catherine McLean, Pieter Meyers and John Twilley are working on a technical catalogue of the ancient art collections of the recently opened Miho Museum in Shigaraki, Japan. The catalogue will document scientific and technical investigations carried out on approximately 200 works of Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Ancient Near Eastern, Islamic, and Chinese art. The publication is expected to be completed in 1999.

Annamaria Neves completed her fellowship in the Paintings Conservation Section at LACMA in September. Annamaria, who holds a teaching position at Brazil's Conservation Training Program, CECOR, worked with paintings conservators at LACMA for nine months, with funding from the Lampadia Foundation and the Getty Grant Program. Paintings Conservation will be interviewing candidates for next year.

At the UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, Jo Hill continues to be involved with the planning of the recently-approved MS degree program in the conservation of ethnographic and archaeological material. The program has three sponsors: UCLA Institute of Archaeology, UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, and the Getty Museum. Jo recently returned from a trip to Washington, DC, where she was studying with mountmakers at the Smithsonian and other institutions.

The lab welcomes pre-training conservation interns Maggie Kipling and Karin Strelioff, who commenced their internships in mid-June. Conservation assistant Linda Clougherty is off for four months at archaeological digs in Cyprus and Italy; postgraduate intern Tania Collas continues contract work after her completion of a Kress fellowship at the Fowler; pre-training conservation intern Batyah Shtrum is in the final stages of her preparation for conservation graduate school.

Robert Aitchison of Aitchison and Watters, Inc. consulted with Valerie Baas and Marc Harnly at the Department of Photography, J. Paul Getty Museum on the treatment of Walker Evans photographs in preparation for an upcoming exhibition of his work.

From May 4, to May 29, 1998, Duane Chartier, Carolina Haass and Tania Collas of ConservArt Associates, Inc. were at the Mount Rushmore National Monument in South Dakota for the installation of an entirely new interpretive center/museum. All conservation and mounting of original objects (over 200) ranging from elements of popular culture such as miniature license plates, 3-D glasses and comic books to heavy machinery and 7' high plaster maquettes of the presidents' heads was carried out in close collaboration with the exhibition design company, Universal Exhibits. This was an excellent team effort that culminated the 2 year planning and construction of the new center. The public opening was June 15th and the official inauguration of the new facilities will be attended by the President or the Vice President of the United States in the fall.

Denise Domergue and Pamela Gonzales of Conservation of Paintings, Ltd. have moved to 1660 Stanford Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404 Tel. (310)453-7717, FAX (310)828-5933, Ddomergue@conservationofpainting.com. Denise and Pam are conducting a survey of approximately 50 paintings for the Cultural Affairs Department of the City of Los Angeles.

Following a 2-year fellowship at the GCI in the former Special Projects section, Leslie Rainer has won the Rome Prize for conservation, and will be studying at the American Academy in Rome for six months from September 98 - March 99. Her topic of research will be on the conservation issues of 16th century garden grottoes in the parks and villas in and around Rome. Congratulations Leslie!

Cecily Grzywacz attended an international meeting on "Indoor-Air Pollution: Detection and Mitigation of Carbonyls" organized by the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. Dr. Lorraine Gibson, post-doctorate at the University of Strathclyde and GCI colleague and collaborator for many years called and organized the meeting (some may remember Lorraine as she attended last year's Annual Meeting). The meeting was sponsored by the University of Strathclyde, Dionex UK, the Conservation Bureau of Historic Scotland and the Getty Conservation Institute. (See Conference Review for a short description.)

Kathryn Klein in association with the Getty Conservation Institute organized an exhibition on Oaxacan Textiles at the Southwest Museum in Los Angeles. The exhibition was entitled The Unbroken Thread. A book of the same title was published in both English and Spanish and is available from the Getty. Sharon Shore, textile conservator, contributed to several of the chapters.

The GCI has produced a video entitled Art & Atoms intended for high school students, which will be distributed to high schools this year. The video is intended to introduce students to the concept of the intimate interplay of art and science and to encourage a greater appreciation for preservation of cultural heritage. Pedro Celedon produced the video. Jim Druzik, Jeff Levin and Cecily Grzywacz, with the input and expertise of 8 local high school science teachers, are developing a Teacher's Guide to be distributed with the video.

The Getty Center held an Open House for local conservators in May. This was hosted by the Getty Conservation Institute, the Getty Museum Decorative Arts & Sculpture Conservation Laboratory, the Paintings Conservation Studio, the Paper and Photography Conservation Department, and the Getty Research Institute Rare Book Laboratory. A number of local conservators took advantage of this opportunity to visit the Getty Center Museum, laboratories, and studios and the work and care taken to organize this event was much appreciated by all who attended.

The GCI Abomey Project on the conservation of the bas reliefs of the Royal Palace has been completed after four years of hard work and the under the successful direction of the team leaders, Francesca Pique and Leslie Rainer.

Diane Pullano, recently relocated to California from Boston, has started her conservation practice in Los Angeles. Diane's speciality is the conservation of comic books, but she also does work on paper.

Glenn Wharton received a Samuel H. Kress Conservation Publication Fellowship to write a book on Conservation Concerns in the Design of Public Art. Later in the year he will put out a call to conservators with experience in consulting on public art projects. He is also coordinating the publication of a series of leaflets on archaeological conservation in Turkey through the Middle Eastern Culture Center in Japan and the Freer Gallery of Art. Glenn has returned his firm to its original name, Glenn Wharton and Associates.

Linnaea Dix, Associate Conservator with Glenn's firm will join the Sculpture Conservation Studio in September. She will continue to work with Glenn on architectural and sculptural conservation projects on a consulting basis.

Regional Reporter:
Virginia Rasmussen
Conservation Center
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
5905 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(213) 857-6168

ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION

Victoria Montana Ryan attended the annual CWAM meeting, in Douglas, Wyoming, taking part in a panel presentation. She also represented the Rocky Mountain Conservation Center at the Arizona Museum Council conference. Heather Tudhope, RMCC Paper Conservator, has joined the board of the Colorado Preservation Alliance. She replaces Lori Mellon, whose term recently expired.

D. Hays Shoop, Paintings Conservator, gave a presentation at the May meeting of the Colorado Preservation Alliance, acquainting members with the services RMCC offers. Matthew Crawford, RMCC Object Conservator, has taken a leave of absence to travel to Turkey. He will be working as the site conservator on an archaeological dig.

John Kjelland will conduct an all-day workshop on furniture coatings care at the Museum of the Rockies in September. He has been busy conserving leather-covered furniture for the National Park Service and privately-owned 18th Century Spanish, English and American wooden objects.

Eileen Clancy will be moving her business into new quarters in July. The new address is 1227 Santa Fe Drive, Denver, Colorado 80204. Eileen has been busy traveling the last few months, conducting workshops for the Oklahoma Museum Association in Oklahoma City and working on an IMLS project with the Estes Park Area Historical Museum in Colorado.

The Western Center for the Conservation of Fine Arts (WCCFA) was chosen by the Historic Preservation Division, Office of Cultural Affairs, State of New Mexico to survey New Deal Art in historic buildings in six New Mexico cities. Carmen Bria treated the mural, Wheat Workers by Martyl S. Schweig (1940), 5' x 14', oil on canvas, at the post office in Russell, Kansas (home of Bob Dole). The wall holding the mural had been damaged by water and, following repairs to the roof, the mural was covered to protect it while wall repairs and painting could be completed. The treatment was completed in June.

The Colorado Preservation Alliance is pleased to announce that their Disaster Recovery website is up. Heather Tudhope, of Interealm Web Design, designed the site. It includes fast access to disaster information, most of the insert articles from past issues of the CPAlert, and many links to preservation information. A text-heavy site, with limited graphics, provides quick loading and easy use.

The site was intended to be available through telnet and the web through ACLIN. The URL is http://www.aclin.org/~cpa/. Please send comments, queries and constructive criticisms to Karen Jones at kjones@jefferson.lib.co.us

Regional reporter:
Diane Danielson
Rocky Mountain Regional Con. Center
2420 South University Blvd.
Denver, CO 80208
(303) 733-2712

ARIZONA

Terri Schindel , Arizona Historical Society, coordinated a Preventive Conservation Class through the University of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff. Martha Grimm, Laura Downey, Nancy Odegaard and Marilen Pool also presented subject sections with practicums during the three week course.

Nancy Odegaard, Arizona State Museum, presented a day long lecture on objects conservation during a week long course at the University of New Mexico coordinated by Susan Barger. Nancy was a presenter in the Canadian Association of Conservation annual meetings and Post-meeting Workshop on Indigenous Issues in Conservation held in Whitehorse, Yukon in May. Nancy was also the archaeological conservator at the Homol'ovi excavations in Arizona and presented a lecture to the field schools in July.

Gloria Fraser-Giffords coordinated the Univ. of Arizona's Border Academy Project which is a two-week intensive conference in June and July that examines the social, political, and economic issues that shape life on the border.

Amanda Hunter and Adrienne Lundgren, interns at the Arizona State Museum and Fraser-Giffords Paintings Conservation, will join the new conservation program class at the University of Delaware.

Regional reporter:
Nancy Odegaard
Arizona State Museum
Tucson, AZ 85721
(520) 621-6314
e-mail: odegaard@pop.u.arizona.edu

SAN DIEGO

Alise Bowler, Balboa Art Conservation Center's Getty Fellow, returned to Canada earlier this year and is currently working in private practice in Montreal. BACC pre-program intern Tran Vo, was accepted into the University of Delaware/Winterthur Program. Hugh Shockey is their current pre-program student. They are pleased to announce that Alexis Miller will be coming to BACC in September from the Winterthur Program to begin her third year internship in the conservation of paintings. BACC extends its warm appreciation to Theresa Andrews and Laura Downey for the time they have spent there recently working on a variety of projects as guest paper conservators.

Bob McGiffin and Linda Spangenberger have opened their new private practice: "Antique Rehabilitation Studio", for the preservation and restoration of three-dimensional art and antiques. In addition to treating a wide range of materials, including furniture, sculpture, ceramics, metals, textiles and ivory/bone, they will be conducting surveys and offering environmental consulting services.

Regional reporter:
Frances Prichett
5235 35th Street
San Diego, CA 92116
(619) 283-0368

OKLAHOMA

Brian Howard of the Commonwealth Conservation Center, Harrisburg, PA treated a frame for the painting "Portrait of Mrs. John Apthorp" by John Copley. The frame is believed to have been gilded by Paul Revere.

In June Perry Huston and Associates, Fort Worth, TX treated and installed a Delbert Jackson mural for the City of Tulsa's Airport Lobby.

Gayle Clements will conduct a workshop on the numbering of objects for museums, historical houses, and private collections for the Collections Managers Committee of the Texas Association of Museums in Waco, Texas in July.

The Gilcrease Museum's Department of Conservation's kit "Acid Rain's Harmful Effects on Cultural Monuments and Buildings" has been sent to the Getty Education Institute for the Arts, Heritage Preservation, and six other objects conservators for their review and comments. The kit was introduced during the AIC Object Specialty Group meeting by Julie Reilly, Chairperson of the Objects Group.

Regional reporter:
Gayle S. Clements
Thomas Gilcrease Museum of American History and Art
Conservation Department
1400 Gilcrease Museum Road
Tulsa, OK 74127
(918) 596-2780

HAWAII

At the Bishop Museum CRCC: Cultural Resources & Collections Care (the facility formerly known as Bishop Museum Conservation Services, which in turn was the facility formerly known as PRCC: Pacific Regional Conservation Center), staff prepared and installed traditional Hawaiian artifacts from Bishop Museum's collections at the Hawaii Convention Center for the grand opening ceremonies in Honolulu.

Bev Lambert began a CAP assessment at Hawaii Maritime Center. CRCC is the recipient of a National Parks Service NAGPRA Museum Grant that will train Native Hawaiian researchers to continue documentation of unassociated funerary objects in Bishop Museum collections. Downey Manoukian has been working on a variety of major treatments using the Bishop Museum Paper Conservation Laboratory facilities. Artifacts for the Filipino American Exhibit at the State Dept. were prepared & packed for shipping to Washington, DC. Valerie Free will courier the exhibit back to the Islands. The conservation staff is working on a large project from the Prince Albert Foundation on Kauai to clean and stabilize their quilt collection. Bev Lambert is designing an acrylic sink to help facilitate the washing process.

Laura Gorman recently treated Upright Motive #9 by Henry Moore in downtown Honolulu. After completion of a CAP survey for the Guam Museum, she is currently working on a number of treatments and projects for the Honolulu Academy of Arts and other clients.

Susan Sayre Batton, with the assistance of Susan Thomas and David McFall, curated the exhibition, Fugaku Sanju Rokkei: Hokusai's "36 Views of Mt. Fuji" Behind the Scenes in the Conservation Studio, at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. The Honolulu Academy of Arts is currently conserving the entire holdings of Hokusai's "36 Views of Mt. Fuji", through grants from the Robert F. Lange Foundation.

Some of the prints will be exhibited in Nagano, Japan, this Spring, while a complete set will be featured in an exhibit at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco entitled "Hokusai and Hiroshige: Japanese Woodblock Prints from the James A. Michener Collection of the Honolulu Academy of Arts" in the Fall of 1998. In the Academy's exhibition, a small group of prints from the series is exhibited to the right of "before treatment" photographs. In addition, label text explains the steps involved in conserving each print.

After a year in Texas with Perry Huston & Associates, Greg Thomas has returned to Hawaii to resume his private practice, Art Care. Greg visited the mainland again to work with Anne Rosenthal on murals in San Francisco.

Larry Pace completed the conservation treatment of the 5 buon frescos by Jean Charlot in the new Hawaii Convention Center and is currently working on projects for the Honolulu Academy of Art, The Contemporary Museum, and numerous individual clients.

Regional reporter:
Laurence A. Pace
Pace Art Conservation Enterprises Inc.
1645 Haku Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96819-1648
(808) 833-1999
fax: (808) 839-0320
e-mail: lapace@lava.net

TEXAS

Cheryl Carrabba, Carrabba Conservation, Inc. Austin Texas is proud to announce that this August marks the anniversary of 20 years in private practice. Cheryl offers "a big thanks to the many people who have taken part in the development of the business and the success of the services we offer."

Dana Hemmenway completed her seven-month internship in photograph conservation with Barbara Brown at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas, and has gone on to The Better Image to work with Nora Kennedy and Peter Mustardo for the final four months of her third-year internship. In September, Dana starts as a Mellon Fellow working in photograph conservation at the Metropolitan Museum with Nora Kennedy.

Helen Houp of Perry C. Huston & Associates recently surveyed paintings at the Hall of State at Fair Park, Dallas. She also completed an examination of the murals on the Food Fiber Building at Fair Park. Perry Huston has been chosen as a consultant for the conservation of the Gettysburg Cyclorama in Pennsylvania.

At a symposium on outdoor murals in Austin last January, Nathan Zakheim, a board member of the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles, spoke on technical considerations for mural preparation.

Mark Van Gelder, Art Conservation Services of Austin, participated in a round table discussion at the symposium. In March, Mark conducted a condition survey for the State Preservation Board of the approximately 300 paintings at the Texas State Capitol complex.

Martha Simpson Grant, Objects Conservator, Austin, Texas, recently completed treatment and consultation for the Hall of the Americas Exhibition, which opened in June at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Martha worked on the project with Beverly Perkins, Art Conservation of Los Angeles, who headed conservation of the exhibit. Matthew Crawford (Rocky Mountain Conservation Center) and Ron Harvey (Tuckerbrook Conservation, Lincoln, Maine), also provided conservation treatment and consultation for the exhibit.

Richard Trela, Senior Paintings Conservator and Director, Conservation Center, Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, Canyon, TX, chaired a session on condition reporting at the Texas Association of Museums annual meeting in Galveston in April. He also gave a talk on environmental monitoring at the Northwest Texas Museum Association in April. Richard is a new member on the AIC Education and Training Committee and is serving on the program committee for the AIC 1999 annual meeting. He also recently completed CAP surveys for two museums in Texas: the Collingsworth Historical Museum in Wellington and the Museum of Barbed Wire in McLean.

Regional reporter:
Martha Simpson Grant
Objects Conservator
5201 Avenue H
Austin, TX 78751
(512) 371-9387
msgrant@swbell.net

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA

Denise Fordham and Andrew Woodd of Fordham & Woodd Fine Art Services in San Francisco, have recently completed the installation of Rodin's "The Burghers of Calais" in the Memorial Court of Stanford University and Claes Oldenburg's "Inverted Q" on the terrace of the sculpture garden at the University Museum of Art. They are also working on the design, fabrication and installation of specialized mounts and display cases for objects in the permanent collection.

Anne Rosenthal was recently invited to the Art Institute of Chicago to treat a wall painting fragment of a bodhisattva, (10th C. China, Henan province) from the main hall of the now ruined Buddhist monastery of Cisheng-si. The figure is one of a series of wall paintings removed from the site in the 1920's, and acquired by the Art Institute of Chicago in 1991. The painting, composed of water based media on thin gesso above a clay/straw substrate, was in need of consolidation and minor local repair.

Alejandro Reyes-Vizzuet worked for the National Trust for Historical Preservation on 19th century European oil paintings from the collection of Casa Amesti in Monterey, CA. He also worked on 19th century bronze and marble sculptures from private collectors from Santa Cruz and Salinas, CA.

The Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco welcomes English tapestry conservator Hannah Lumb from the Textile Conservation Studios at Hampton Court. Hannah will be at the FAMSF for 10 months to oversee the conservation of the 16th c. Triumph of Prudence tapestry from the Triumph of the Seven Virtues series on an IMS Grant. Before her departure from London she and a team of conservators from the Studios completed the installation of 50 court costumes at Kensington Palace.

In August, the FAMSF will welcome Elizabeth-Anne Haldane, a textile conservation student at the Royal College of Art and the Victoria and Albert Museum. She will be with us for two months, concentrating on costume projects including the reconstruction and stabilization of a formal 18th c. English open robe and petticoat.

Pre-program intern Beth Szuhay has departed the FAMSF to start her first term at Winterthur. Beth has been an invaluable addition to our staff. We wish her the best of luck in the East and are very much hoping for her prompt return after graduation! Yadin Larochette, pre-program intern previously at the Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology, has just recently started working at the FAMSF. Yadin has had a lifetime's training in textiles from her father, world renown tapestry weaver John Pierre Larochette. She is assisting on a number of projects including a condition survey of over 500 hats. In September JoAnne Hackett will return to textiles conservation at FAMSF. She recently completed her final Winterthur internship at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. JoAnne was a pre-program intern at the FAMSF and we are all delighted that she has chosen to return.

The 1998-99 Board of Directors for the Bay Area Conservation Guild (BAACG) are as follows: Margaret (Meg) Geiss-Mooney, President; Niccolo Caldararo, Vice President; Lissa Cooley, Recording Secretary; Susana Zubiate, Treasurer; Mark Harpainter, Member at Large; Morton Quist, Member at Large; Denise Krieger Migdail, Member at Large; and Paul Wells, Member at Large. The Board-appointed position of Membership Secretary is filled by Carrie Ann Calay. Annual dues remain at $15.00. BAACG held their general business meeting the end of June at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor. Guild members and guests were then given a tour of the paper conservation lab and the compact storage facility by Debra Evans, Janice Schopfer, and Elisabeth Cornu.

Kathleen Orlenko is conservator for Octavo Corporation, a start-up software company producing digitized facsimiles of rare books and manuscripts on CD-ROMs. Octavo forms partnerships with libraries, private collectors and other institutions to provide digital preservation and accessibility to these materials. Her telephone number is 650.470.0157 and e-mail is orlenko@octavo.com.

Antoinette Dwan has moved to Sebastopol, California which is located in Sonoma County, 45 miles north of San Francisco. She can be reached at the following address and phone: 313 N. Main St., Sebastopol, CA 95472: 707/824-4742. Her home phone is 707/829-5448. Antoinette is completing a major treatment project of 60 contemporary prints for the Stanford University Art Museum. She is also progressively treating the old master drawing collection for the Crocker Art Museum.

The conservation department at the Asian Art Museum would like to wish Vicki Cassman the very best on her new adventures. In May, Vicki and her son headed off to Chile for a conference and project. Upon her return, Vicki will head for Las Vegas where she will begin a tenure-track teaching position for UNLV's Anthropology department. Taking over for Vicki is Meg Geiss-Mooney who joined us on June 22nd. Meg has been a textile conservator for 20 years and brings a wealth of practical knowledge of textile analysis and treatment. In particular, her expertise in storage design and integrated pest management provides the department with skills needed for the New Asian, as well as ongoing projects.

Mark Fenn fills the Associate Conservator vacancy on August 24th. In addition to years of conservation treatment, Mark also has first-hand experience of moving a collection; this will add to the planning and execution of our move to Civic Center.

Linda Scheifler-Marks took a leave-of-absence to teach a week-long conservation workshop in Mongolia with Teresa Heady, former textile conservator at the Asian and now a conservator at the Horniman Museum, London. Meanwhile, Julie Goldman traveled to Singapore and Manila to courier several paintings for the "At Home and Abroad" exhibition which highlights the works of contemporary Filipino artists. Blanche Kim, third year Winterthur intern, embarked on a road trip into Baja California assisting Sharon Blank and other museum professionals from around the country in addressing conservation issues at a museum which is housed in a former prison compound (more challenging than converting a library!)

Paper conservators Anita Noennig and Holly Anderson, both in private practice, are sharing space in Sebastapol, Western Sonoma County. They are busy enjoying the new studio and the serene beauty of the region.

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is pleased to announce the promotion of Paula De Cristofaro to the position of Conservator of Paintings. In July, SFMOMA conservators Will Shank, Jill Sterrett, Paula De Cristofaro and Getty Fellows Dawne Steele Pullman and Heida Shoemaker undertook a condition survey of the Bay Area collection of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Anderson in anticipation of a large SFMOMA exhibition of their modern paintings, sculpture and works on paper, scheduled to take place in the museum's galleries in the year 2000. Will Shank and Heida Shoemaker worked together to prepare a collection of Joseph Cornell boxes for exhibition at SFMOMA, and they are consulting, along with Jill Sterrett, with the Seattle Art Museum on similar issues of conservation and installation of their bequest of Cornell works from the Joseph and Robert Cornell Foundation. Dawne Steele Pullman visited the Josef Albers Foundation in New York as part of her research into the technique of Albers. Will Shank worked in Washington, DC, with preparators, conservators and curators at the National Gallery of Art to prepare for the installation of Alexander Calder at its second venue in San Francisco, where it is now on view.

Regional reporters:
Paloma Garcia-Anoveros
Lucasfilm Archives
P.O. Box 2009
San Rafael, CA 94912
Tel: (415) 662-1650
Fax: (415) 662-1553
e-mail: paloma@lucasfilm.com

Tammy Flynn Seybold
530 Hampshire Street, #300
San Francisco, CA 94110
Tel: (415) 551-1600
Fax: (415) 551-1600
e-mail: seybold@earthlink.net