William Trost Richards, 1833 - 1905, was one of the foremost proponents of the American Pre-Raphaelite movement although he is also associated with the Hudson River School. He eventually rejected the romanticized and stylized approach in favor of meticulous factual renderings. Richards was elected as a full member of the National Academy of Design (the first art museum in America) in 1871. Few paintings of this dimension (48 x 72 inches) exist outside of fine art museums. This particular painting was damaged when it was transported on top of an automobile when it was secured by two thick ropes. Transporting art is often the reason when fine paintings are damaged.

Before Treatment Oil on canvas by Frederick Childe Hassam, considered one of the most important American Impressionists. He produced over 3,000 paintings, watercolors, etchings, and lithographs in his career, and was a founding member of The Ten, an influential group of American artists.

After Treatment After removal of the surface dirt, consolidation of  the flaking paint, inpainting (retouching), and finish varnishes, the painting was ready for exhibit at the Monterey Museum of Art for their exhibit on Impressionists in American art of the 20th century.

Before framing, this painting was sprayed on the verso with water to shrink the canvas and remove the bulges. Solving one problem created another more serious problem.		After treatment of the 19th century genre painting to stabilize the paint film, it was returned for framing to a relieved client and framer.

When the fibers of the canvas shrink, the friable paint film releases stress by cracking, or as in this case, "tenting."

The stretcher bars were attached to expandable bars and the painting was gradually humidified in a chamber to relax the paint film. Minor  adjustments to the bars allowed for the elongation of the fibers of the canvas to aid in reseating the tenting paint film.

Localized treatment with heated air and a heat spatula helped to reattach and consolidate the lifting paint. We recommend not spraying the back of paintings to get rid of unsightly deformations but we are usually asked only after the fact.