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Roosevelt Fine Art

Roosevelt Fine Art was established in 1984 to promote the production and sale of fine art limited edition prints. In 2002, Maria and Michael Roosevelt added art and antique doll restoration and conservation to the list of services provided by Roosevelt Fine Art. Maria has many years of restoration and conservation experience from apprenticing with her grandmother who was herself the daughter of an accomplished painter and craftsman.

Maria is experienced in the restoration and conservation of paintings, and antique bisque and china dolls. She has done projects for individuals and institutions, as well as cataloguing for major auction houses and consultation

with collectors.

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Unknown artist - "Woman in blue" (before restoration left; after restoration, right), oil on panel ­ a seemingly hopeless project, restored after many hours of meticulous work.

Roosevelt Fine Art specializes in high quality but affordable restoration and conservation of paintings and other artwork which may not warrant the attention of costly conservation laboratories. We do not offer services such as X-rays or vacuum table lining of paintings. We do offer restoration and conservation of family heirlooms or recently acquired auction finds.

 

ROOSEVELT FINE ART LLC

P.O. Box 162 West Danville, VT 05873

Tel: (802) 563-2215

Email: thefar1048@aol.com

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Rachel Ruysch (Dutch 1664-1750)- "Still life with peaches."

Restoration and Conservation Projects
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This large portrait of a member of the Weeks family, Oyster Bay, New York, was cleaned, retouched, and revarnished - a routine conservation project.

Unknown (American c. 1800) - "Portrait of Mrs. Weeks," (above) oil or canvas.

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Horace Bundy - "Portrait of a woman" (detail), oil on canvas

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Horace Bundy - "Portrait of a gentleman" (detail), oil on canvas

Horace Bundy (American 1814-1863) was an itinerant painter born in Hardwick, VT. He often painted couples, as in this pair of paintings, and he often used a characteristic oval format. Both paintings had a heavy layer of grime when they arrived for conservation (see above.)

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Horace Bundy - "Portrait of a woman" (left), and "Portrait of a gentleman," (right.)

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Horace Bundy - "Portrait of a woman" and "Portrait of a gentleman" in the final stage before a protective layer of archival varnish is applied.

Both paintings were obscured by the accumulated grime of years as can be seen on the untouched portrait at the the left. The portrait on the right has undergone the first stages of cleaning.

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Algernon M. Talmage, 1929 - "Landscape with goats" (detail), oil

on canvas

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Talmage, "Landscape with goats" after several months of rehydration and careful restoration of the underlying paint layer. Minor areas of paint loss have already been repaired by this stage.

Algernon M. Talmage (British 1871-1939) was a painter of landscapes, animals and figure studies. He is well documented and his works are represented in the Tate Gallery and other British museums.

 

This painting, once in the collection of an English noblewoman, eventually found its way to a hotel in the United States. There, unfortunately, the weight of its heavy frame proved too much for the faming hardware which pulled out and the picture came crashing to the floor.

 

Talmage, who appears to have been a fast and facile painter, had not allowed adequete time for the image layer of the painting to properly adher to the gesso layer. The impact of the painting hitting the floor resulted in 10 - 15% of the image layer popping off. Subsequent storage in a humid, poorly ventilated area, produced further damage and paint loss.

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As work proceeded, areas with persistent "tenting" of paint are either repaired or painsakingly replaced. At this point the project looked like it might never be complete.

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Nearly, but not quite finished.

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Finished at last.

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William Vollmer was a German-American painter who painted this portrait of his mother-in-law, Swiss-born Maria Keppler, after she arrived in New York. Vollmer reworked this painting quite a bit, especially around the left side of Mrs. Keppler's face - her lips and eyes. Later repairs showed obvious discoloration. The work also had areas of loss of the image layer.

William Vollmer (German-American c. 1850), "Portrait of Maria Keppler" b. 1817 (detail), oil on canvas

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"Portrait of Maria Keppler" after conservation (above)

Sometimes more recent artwork requires more extensive attention than older works. The painting below by the Norwegian-American painter and designer Lorenz Kleiser of his daughter, Helene, was originally done on canvas in 1923. It was later damaged in an earthquake in California and was mounted on board. Over the years it experienced loss of the image layer and various dings and folds along the edges.

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Lorenz Kleiser, "Portrait of Helene" 1923, before & after.

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H.Pape (American - 1945), "Boats at Kennebunk" oil on canvas.

This American artist may have decided to paint over an earlier work because materials were expensive and in short supply during WW II. The result was that the image layer of this work was falling off where it had adhered poorly to the

original surface.

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"Boats at Kennebunk" after conservation.

After cleaning, rehydration, and repair of areas of loss, this painting was returned to its original state.

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Artists have resorted to various expedients over the years which then become the subject of conservation or restoration. These two paintings by Harold Liebman (German - American, 1895 - 1960) were trimmed to the edge by the artist. The painting of the three hounds was then glued to a piece of masonite; the other painting was simply hung up by two pieces of thread. Here they are being prepared to be lined and eventually placed on stretchers.

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