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Painting conservation - a serious concern

"Museums have a duty to care for objects entrusted to them for the benefit of the public. By conserving, documenting and storing objects, museums are able to provide access to them for present and future generations." (Department of National Heritage 1996).

All paintings are liable to decay in one way or another. Art lovers ask plenty of questions about a painting's past, but rarely about its future. Traditionally, art galleries have directed their efforts to treating pictures individually and then returning them to the storage conditions which may have led to their decay in the first place. Though this approach is no longer as common as it used to be, the damage has already been done. There are too many paintings in need of help and too few resources to cope with them. On the positive side, there are many well-trained painting conservators who could tackle the problem if resources were available. Lack of resources leads to collections of paintings being unmanaged and inaccessible, so that deterioration continues unseen and unmonitored. Many of the collections that have been visited by the Public Catalogue Foundation over the last year are in this position. Many of the regional museums and civic buildings have no budget whatsoever for conservation and restoration. And where budgets exist in many cases they have been cut in the last few years.

While the public perception of an art gallery is that of "a safe and secure environment where objects are frozen in time, magically preserved for future generations", the reality is often very different. There are numerous dangers to paintings in store, even in the best resourced museums. Fire is the most devastating threat, followed closely by water from leaking pipes or roofs, or of course from tackling fire itself. Neglected stores are also vulnerable to theft, vandalism and to unsupervised access, which can lead to paintings being damaged or not replaced in their proper location, so that they are effectively lost.

All paintings are vulnerable to incorrect or fluctuating levels of relative humidity and temperature. High and low levels of both temperature and humidity are damaging. There may be physical reactions in the panel and canvas supports of paintings, mould and microbes may flourish, and, of course, both wood and fabric represent a square meal for a large variety of insects.

Regular checking of all storage areas for the correct levels of temperature, relative humidity and light is an essential part of collections care. Checking each painting to establish that it is in its correct location, that it has not suffered accidental damage, nor reacted to an unsuitable environment or been attacked by insect or mould, is a vital part of long-term preservation.

The funds raised by The Public Catalogue Foundation from the sale of catalogues will provide much needed funds to help identify and repair existing damage as well as prevent future decay. Hopefully, the project should also stimulate considerably greater national concern about the condition of paintings in the national collection.