Can this be saved?

[Tommy P]

A customer brought in what appears to be a very thin "silk like" piece about 32 x 24 stretched like a canvas. It has an image of all the siblings and their now deceased mother. He says his brother had it done in Viet Nam.

The image appears almost photo like....not sure what this technique is....almost air brush but I don't think that's it...

It has a three inch tear and several "thin" spots....if you hold it up to the light it looks pretty "tired".

He wants to know if we can find out how to "make it better". I've called some "canvas restoration" places but I've had no luck.

Anyone know what this is? Can it be made better? It's on a stretcher frame with a wood frame around it. Or should we just stay away from this....it's very sentimental to this nice man and I'd like to help him out....

 

[Susan May]

Try calling a canvas Conservator, or there might be a fabric Conservator. Perhaps Hugh can give us a heads up?

It sounds like a very good silk painting. I've seen a few silk paintings, and some are photo-real in their quality.

 

[Rebecca]

Hello Frameboy,

I have seen one of these before - also from Vietnam. The technique looks very much like what we in North America call "crayon enlargements".

Crayon enlargements are very faint photographic portraits printed on paper or fabric, and hand embellished with watercolor, pastel, airbrush etc. etc.

The client who brought in the piece swore that it did not have a photographic base - he remembers the artist staying in their home for a number of days painting the piece. He would have been a child then though, and may have missed the photograph part.

Be that as it may, I'd suggest you contact a textile, paper or photographic conservator. This may take a bit of hunting, as your piece is a bit of a hybrid, but once you find the right person it should be a fairly straight forward mounting treatment. No heroic measures sound necessary - just gentle support, with maybe a couple of local mends on the reverse.

This is not a paintings conservator type of job (unless they specialize in Asian paintings)as oil/acrylic painting canvases are much more robust than fine silk.

Good Luck!

Rebecca