wavy canvas restretch

[Leslie S.]

I have a pair of fairly old oil paintings from Spain that came in for framing. The stretcher bars were in terrible shape, and the canvas had puckered badly in a couple of the corners. Due to the age, I really did not want to restretch, and told the customer the dangers, but he did not want to send it to a conservator for a variety of reasons. I really could not frame them in the current condition, so I finally agreed to restretch them. I can't get the blasted waves to come out! I can't pull very tight because of the age of the canvas. Is there anything I can do to gently relax it, or flatten it prior to stretching? I have left it on the stretchers overnight, and will see if I can pull any more of the waves and puckers out today. Is it possible that the canvas is permenantly warped? Any advice(besides throwing the dad-gummed things out onto Main Street..I already thought of that!)would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Leslie

[Jim Miller]

I suggest giving the customer two options:

1. Live with the waves after your restretch, or
2. Let a conservator do the job properly.

In cases like this on The G, we often read something like "the customer doesn't want a conservator". Well, why not? Is it price resistance? Distrust of the framer's advice? Distrust of an unknown conservator? Does the customer think the framer can do everything?

The customer probably has no idea what's going on here. It might help to adjust his perspective. For example: Would he ask a painter to restretch the living room carpet while he's there to paint the walls? Would he ask the car mechanic to clean the interior after he fixes the engine? Would he ask a cosmetologist to perform surgery?

The customer might chuckle at those suggestions. So, does he really expect the framer to remove the wrinkles from his damaged canvas?

[ 02-13-2003, 09:14 AM: Message edited by: Jim Miller ]

[pigeon]

Leslie, have you tried dampening the back of the stretched canvas with either a damp cloth or a spray bottle with water? I have found that to work on most pucker problems. Your case might be too severe, but worth a try. Sometimes a few applications, with a drying period in between, helps.

[preservator]

Please listen to what Jim said. The corners of any
stretched canvas are under enormous pressure and
anything you might do could lead to problems.
Think of yourself first and the customer's druthers second.

Hugh

[pigeon]

Hugh, am I doing something I shouldn't be doing when I dampen the back of a canvas to help make it taut?

[preservator]

The age of the painting will make a big difference. Modern paintings are most frequently
done with an acrylic gesso ground. That layer
will be practically impervious to water and should
not suffer from a modest dampening of the canvas.
In the case of older paintings, (pre-1950-60?)
a animal glue sizing layer is more likely to be found just above the canvas. This layer should
be soluable in hot water, but if it got wet enough, one might see changes in it with cooler
water. In general, such old paintings are more
vulnerable to dry conditions than they are to damp conditions so slight wetting may be OK.
Especially in the case of the more recent canvases, your dampening is probably less stressful than restretching would be.

Hugh

[Rebecca]

Leslie,

Dampening the back can shrink the canvas and cause the paint to tent (edges of cracks lift up like tents). Trying to flatten the corner draws can also cause new cracks and paint flaking. There are so materials and working techniques that artists, past and present, have used that it's not possible to predict the way they'll behave. Past environmental conditions will also affect the behavior of paint, ground and canvas. Bad things may not happen, but they can. Lots of things can go wrong, and if you're not prepared for them (knowledge, equipment)irreversible damage can be done, not to mention your own frazzeled nerves.

There is so much to know before attempting conservation treatments - that's why conservators specialize. I won't work on paintings, and I have been known to slap paintings conservator's hands (in the nicest possible way ;) ) when they get involved in paper treatments without knowing what they're doing.

This is really not your problem. The owner should either live with it (and this is always a good option) or take it to a conservator. Refer them to the AIC website.

I have little educational handout brochures about framing, so my clients will know what goes into a frame, what materials to ask for, and what questions to ask. Perhaps framers could use similar handouts for conservation. I think the AIC has some - I know the Canadian Association for Conservation does. Or, perhaps this is a joint project we can all work on.

Rebecca

[ 02-14-2003, 11:02 AM: Message edited by: Rebecca ]

[preservator]

Go with what Rebecca said.

Hugh