ANNOUNCING: A new 5-Year GSA contract for the conservation of sculpture and architectural arts. Commences August 1, 2022. 2022-2027 U.S. General Services Administration - NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION ID/IQ Contract 47PM1122D0002 NTE: $16,009,998.00 (5 Year Total) NAICS Code 54130 (ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES)…
Justice for Wall: Treatment of Wood County Courthouse Murals
Stefan Dedecek, Conservator of Paintings, Murals, and Polychrome Surfaces, recently completed a conservation treatment of a painted wall mural at the Wood County Courthouse in Bowling Green, Ohio. The mural before treatment, the surface appears dark and discolored. The painted…
Safe and Sound: Restoration of Historic Safe Door
Safe and sound is how one can describe an object after conservation treatment such as the recent restoration of a historic safe door by Stefan Dedecek, Conservator of Paintings, Murals, and Polychrome Surfaces, of McKay Lodge Conservation Laboratory located just…
A Long Kipniss Goodnight, A Paintings Conservation Treatment
Robert Kipniss is an American painter, author and printmaker born in 1931 in Brooklyn, New York. He is known for his landscapes executed in subtle tones, typically set at dusk or at night. One of his oil paintings on canvas,…
Conservation Assessment of Painted Sculpture in Puerto Rico
The building blocks of any successful conservation treatment is to first perform a condition assessment. Jim Gwinner, Conservator of Public Art and Sculpture, of McKay Lodge Conservation Laboratory recently traveled perform a conservation assessment of painted sculpture in Puerto Rico.…
Paintings Conservation of a Winter Landscape
It is wintertime in Northern Ohio, and there is certainly snow place like home. Locals learn to enjoy thirty degree plus temperature fluctuations as well as every form water takes-on around freezing temperatures. Winter Landscape by Ernest Lawson, before treatment…
Relining a Painting was the Conservator of a Preacherman
Stefan Dedecek, Conservator of Paintings, Murals, and Polychrome Surfaces at McKay Lodge Conservation Laboratory always takes the least invasive path to the conservation of paintings, but sometimes more intervention is needed - like relining a painting. Before treatment of Tompkins…
Paint a Crack to Make a Dubuffet Intact
Sometimes paintings conservators like Stefan Dedecek of McKay Lodge Conservation Laboratory must inpaint a crack to make a painting look intact. This was the case with a work of art, Femme Incantant, 1945 by famous artist Jean Dubuffet. The painting…
Russian to Restore an Icon
An icon can be defined as "a person or thing regarded as a representative symbol or as worthy of veneration". Jesus Christ is such an icon for the Christian religion. In the Fall of 2020, a project to restore an…
Portrait Restoration: Ready for a Close-up, Conservator Dedecek
Painted portrait restoration requires special skill and training, particularly if a painting is in unstable condition. Stefan Dedecek, Conservator of Paintings, Murals, and Polychrome surfaces at McKay Lodge Conservation Laboratory has such experience, ranging from the treatment of large scale…