Restoration and Conservation
For more than 40 years the Pennsylvania Art Conservatory has helped private collectors, institutions and families preserve and maintain their artwork. Our experienced team of conservators treat each work with care and professionalism, and our modern, 4500 square foot studio is equipped with state of the art tools to ensure the very best outcomes for our clients.
Whether a family heirloom, an investment grade masterpiece, a cherished home centerpiece or anything in between, the Pennsylvania Art Conservatory's experienced team is here to conserve, repair and restore your artwork & fine art frames.
Time lapse of full cleaning
Art, like all things, ages. Canvases and paint expand and contract, varnishes yellow, surface dirt accumulates and accidents happen. Whether your paintings or frames simply need a checkup and a light cleaning or they have been damaged by water, fire or an accidental elbow, the Conservatory can help. We endeavor to make the restoration process as easy as possible for our clients, and are available to answer any questions that you may have.
FAQs
In simple terms, conservation is like general maintenance. Cleaning, varnishing and stabilizing aging paintings and frames fits into this category.
Restoration is the process of repairing damage. Often, paintings that we see with damage have been dropped, abraded, exposed to smoke or water, or simply gone too long without proper conservation.
No. Damage can devalue paintings, high quality restoration can restore much of that lost value.
While we do try our best to help every client, there are some paintings that are not good candidates for restoration. This may be because of the medium or materials used to create the piece, the extent of the damage to the piece or because we just do not believe that restoration is likely to be succesful.
We take great pride in our work and will never advise a client to do something that will not benefit their art.
Art restoration is a meticulous process and our team of conservators take every possible measure to ensure that each piece of art that passes through our studio is thoroughly and carefully approached. More often than not, our process is conducted a square inch at a time. Turnaround times on pieces can vary but we generally assume 12 to 16 weeks to be a good estimate.
Each piece of art that comes to the Conservatory is a little different, and as such, has different needs. Some paintings require relatively little work and the cost of conservation is reflective, some pieces require a more robust approach that is far more costly. We do not charge for consultations and are happy to look at any piece for a restoration quote.
