Portrait of SArah ann

This naïve portrait of Sarah Ann Codman, painted by her father, was extremely dry and brittle with extensive craquelure throughout.  The thickly applied oil resin varnish was heavily discolored and there were several punctures in the canvas.

Cleaning, stabilization, lining to a new canvas support with inpainting to the punctures brought this endearing portrait back to life.  The craquelure remains visible to preserve the aesthetic integrity of the painting. In spite of the visual cracks, however, the portrait is fully stabilized and will remain so for many generations to come.

SARAH ANN, PUNCTURE:  BEFORE

This detail shows the large puncture in Sarah Ann’s neck.  The portrait had been poorly restored in the past.  The old patch, putty and retouch were completely removed before proper restoration could take place.

SARAH ANN, PUNCTURE:  AFTER

After cleaning and stabilization, the puncture was filled with conservation gesso putty to recreate the original texture of the paint and canvas.  Next, isolating varnish and inpainting were applied, making the unsightly puncture virtually disappear.  The repair was limited to the areas of missing paint only.  Because of this, the integrity of the original paint layer was not compromised in any way.