water damaged print

[Tycho]

An elderly customer recently brought in a damaged print. It seems several years ago he had some kind of water leak that totally got to the piece which was framed and hanging on his wall. The source of the leak was never identified and he has since moved. Anyhow from the looks of the poor thing it appears that it may have been floating in a pool of water for some time and the damage has set in due to the time that has passed since the incedent.

I have of course suggested he talk to a conservator and offered to give him a list of several conservators. I previously compiled this list in anticipation of such items showing up at my door. I have not however had an occassion to contact any of them directly and have limited knowledge of what they can and cannot do and at what cost. So I am wondering what any of you know about working with a conservator.

Can water damage (The obvious, staining and warping)to an offset lithograph be corrected?

What is the basic amount charged for a conservators condition report and plan of action or How much (approx.) will this type of repair cost?

In your shop, do you act as middleman in such cases on behalf of your customers, and if so what do you charge?

Feel free to voice any other opinions or suggestions you may have! smile.gif

Thanks in advance for your input. I had wanted to do a search for previous posts, but it appears searching is disabled at the moment. graemlins/shrug.gif

[ArtLady]

Conservators charge their own prices just like you or I. I would not even presume to know what they would charge. That would be between your client and the conservator. Let us just say that it is expensive. Therefore, your customer should have a piece of value or something very cherished for the expense to be justified. We have Buffalo State University near us with one of the four art conservation programs in the USA. On ocassion they will take in projects for the student to work under the supervision of the instructors. They are our local least expensive option, but they are backed up for at least two years.

[Rebecca]

Hi Tycho,

I don't know what the norms of practice are in Florida - here in Vancouver I look at things for free, (unless I have to travel to a site, or it's a large collection) and give a verbal prognosis and cost estimate. If this meets with approval, I write up a brief condition report/treatment proposal and cost estimate.

Depending on the inks and paper, a conservator will probably be able to reduce (maybe remove, but it's better for clients to be pleasantly suprised!) the stains, give the paper an alkaline reserve, and flatten the piece.

Again, I don't know what prices are like in Florida, but here, a job like that might be somewhere between $175.00 - $300.00, depending on size, extent of damage, paper, ink... etc. For very tricky pieces the price goes up.

Framers here either send clients directly to me, or act as a go-between - delivering and picking up the work and paying me directly. In this case they generally charge their client a 15% - 50% service charge.

Rebecca

Rebecca

[Tycho]

Thanks for the replies. I would never presume that a fixed price would exist on any conservators service given the nature of the enterprise. I merely wanted first to see if such repair could be done, I have never had this type of damage repaired myself and wasn't sure is was possible. My second aim from this post was to get at least a ball park figure as to what it might cost, so that I could better inform my customer. Finally I simply wanted to get an idea as to how The Grumblers handle such requests.

Thanks Rebecca for so graciously providing helpful input relevant to my post and for your expertise, you appear to know what you are talking about. graemlins/icon21.gif

[RevBev]

Did any of you hear the piece on public radio recently where they were talking to a freeze-dry taxidermist? He said he'd had occasion to do soaked books and documents as well as pets and critters. Sounded pretty cool. Apparently you can freeze in a vacuum and sublimate the moisture. Not relevant to this situation but worth knowing about. A little learning is a dangerous thing...but who has so much as to be out of danger?

[lyoncat]

As custom picture framers, yes, sure at least, hear from a professional, but there are a few things to consider.
1) Is the customer going to 'trash" the items if they cannot afford to have proffessional help, or you cannot help them?
2) Is it within your grasp to preserve, if not perfectly, at least to some extent, the object.
3)Offer the work to someone in your area that at least has some experience with the situation.

I believe that too often images are destroyed because of ultimatums that don't suit the owner.
If there is a chance that they will do the " right thing', go for it. But in the meantime, do your best.
When is the last time any of you looked up the paper restoration on the net!
There is lots of info there that many of us could handle, not as professionals, but darn close for those garbage-bin jobs.
At least look at the zone of work in-between.
I am not saying to take on professioanl conservator's jobs, but don't let something go to waste because you can't so anything. It is a little bit of history each time. Gone forever.

[Rebecca]

Wow lyoncat, sounds like you've had some bad experiences with conservtors!

Most conservators will offer alternatives to conservation treatment if the client can't afford the work, or feels that the piece doesn't merit the cost. In a lot of cases most of the damage has already been done e.g. matburn, waterstains, foxing...If the owner doesn't mind looking at it, or if the treatment is too risky, I tell them leave it alone, upgrade the matting, and keep it away from extreme display condition. If the piece is unstable (shredded/torn/flaking...)and treatment isn't an option, I tell them how to store the piece safely until it can be worked on. I often work with framers to help them solve problems so that they don't need to bring me in.

That being said, I do get frustrated when people say conservators are too expensive and dictatorial. Believe me, conservators are not at the top of the food chain! Like a lot of custom framers, we put the art first, and business second. Not a complaint, it's a personal choice, but gee lyoncat, we don't issue ultimatums, we're nice!

Rebecca