Revealing original character and inscriptions in a historic Emily Carr painting.
We received into the lab a painting by iconic Canadian historic painter, Emily Carr, initially titled “The Crooked Staircase”. The painting had some conditions including some raised but stable cracks made more visible with a glossy and greyed varnish. The painting also had some restorations that were over-large, covering some original paint and extending down both sides of the painting. Otherwise, the painting was structurally in good condition. During a previous restoration, likely in the 1970’s or early 1980’s), the artwork was removed from an original stretcher, and was lined with a wax adhesive to flatten or stop progression of the cracks. This lining, a canvas adhered to the reverse of the painting, covered the original painting reverse and locked the raised cracks in place.
The painting had been re-stretched to a good quality turnbuckle stretcher, but the colour of the stretcher was not in-keeping with the historic nature of the painting. The artist’s original stretcher was not square, as is evidenced by the uneven turnover edge, but the turnbuckle stretcher was made square and sized to the largest possible dimensions of the painting, and the restorer painted in the side to match the stretcher size.
In the FSR conservation lab, we often conserve previously restored or conserved paintings. Paintings that are valued and loved, have often received interventions in the past in an attempt to improve appearance or other conditions. The previous restoration was done in a manner that was consistent with a good quality conservation or restoration treatment from the 1970’s. The paint, ground and canvas were not damaged by treatment, and all of the materials/processes were fairly reversible.
In the mid 1900’s and up until about the end of the 1970’s, paintings were lined on a regular basis without hesitation or even as a preventive measure to “protect” the canvas. Little value was given to secondary supports (stretchers), with original stretchers often being replaced with a better quality but non-original auxiliary support. By comparison, today, and, in our lab, original stretchers are kept, modified if required, and only replaced as a last resort. Paintings are also only lined if the condition is so poor, that long term stability is impossible without this treatment step, and all linings are reversible. For art collectors, museums and for conservators, originality is much more valued than it was several decades ago.
Our treatment for this painting was designed to restore as much originality as possible to the painting and provide a better aesthetic whilst maintaining as much stability as possible. The painting was cleaned, the thick and overly glossy non-original varnish removed, and overpainting reduced as much as possible, particularly where it was covering artist paint on the left and right sides.
It was determined that the wax lining was holding the tented cracks in position, making it difficult to reduce the height of these cracks. The support of a lining was also not required to stabilize most of the cracks on the painting since most of the cracks were a result of interlayer adhesion problems. It was decided that revealing the original reverse of the canvas was beneficial to the integrity and originality of the painting to the point where it overshadowed any amount of positive effect being afforded by the lining to prevent movement of some of the cracks.
Using heat, we slowly removed the lining in the lab. We were surprised to see the artist’s original large dark inscriptions in her noticeable hand on the canvas reverse, and a new title, “THE CRAZY STAIR”, emerged! Not only did the lining removal allow the painting to return to original in fabrication but it also revealed the original title. The wax which had naturally imbedded into the painting as part of the original lining was slowly removed on our heated suction table, with some of the wax allowed to remain in lifted cracks as a consolidant. The front of the painting was thorough cleaned to remove all wax.
We modified the non-original stretcher for a more historic appearance, re-stretching using original turnovers. Paint losses were infilled and inpainted minimally. Finally, the painting was varnishing with a conservation varnish for saturation and protection, with a sheen level befitting a historic painting. The painting is now in good condition, as it was before conservation treatment, but it is better for the increased originality which brings it closer to the artist’s hand.
This painting can be seen in the collection of the beautiful Audain Museum in Whistler, British Columbia. A visit to the Audain Art Museum in Whistler village is a transformative experience for appreciating the art of British Columbia as well as unique exhibitions from Canada and around the world.
Christine Foster, Senior Conservator of Paintings