to restretch oil or not

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Leslie S.

MGF, Master Grumble Framer
Joined
Apr 11, 2002
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Waxahachie, TX
I have an oil painting on linen to frame that was recently purchased in a gallery in St. Petersburg, Russia. It was fairly expensive. Of course, it turns out to be out-of-square. The top width measurement is about a quarter inch less than the bottom width measurement. The paintining is fairly large, and should have had a cross brace and does not, so it bows inward in the middle. On top of that, the whole thing is too loose. Normally I would key it a bit, but the corners are already keyed out too much. So the question is this...should I re-stretch the whole thing, using new bars with the proper bracing? Or does this diminish the value since it is not in it's original state? Any opinions?

Thanks,
Leslie
 
I'd leave it in its original state and cover up the not-quite-to-the edge bits by using a fillet... Beside, when you take it off the stretchers, you could end up with an even worse problem.
 
What Ellen says. You can also carve out the rabet some on the narrow side to give it more room. I've done this many times. There's even been a thread on it with Rebecca weighing in on the subject. Make the frame to fit the narrow side, and chisel out the other side until it fits. Lots of work, but this is usually the best way to do this with these paintings. If you have a friend or employee who is a woodworker, it will be easier for them to do it for you. It was always my job when I worked part-time for someone else. I was the only woodworker there.
 
These suggestions are worth following. When a
painting on a fabric is stretched, the stresses
on the corners are much higher than the stresses
on the rest of the item. Keying increases such
local stress and should be done with the greatest
caution. Stretched paintings from foreign sources
can be booby traps, since their fabric may be too
thin or degrades. Thus, rabbeting the frame out
to fit the canvas is the safest way to go.

Hugh
 
Additional factors need to be addressed before I can answer how I would handle this job.

As Hugh mentioned, condition is a major factor. Does it need a conservator?
Is there enough fabric for the pliers to grab?
Are the original stretchers reusable?
Is it a known artist, or is it tourist trash?
How old is the painting. If it is an important painting bracing the original bars and re-stretching may be a good option. Restorers reline and re-stretch valuable paintings everyday.
Maybe value does not come into play here, but who says it's valuable. $100 is a lot of money for some.
What does the client expect?
If the painting is not by a Master, is not that old, is in good condition, and has enough fabric, I would not hesitate to re-stretch it.
If the condition is in question, or it is an antique, or the painting is truly valuable, I would refer to a conservator, and/or follow the suggestions above.
 
This oil is obviously fairly recent, on a thick linen, and cost about $5000, U.S. I am not familiar with current Russian painters, so I don't know how famous the artist is...or not! I am tempted to add a cross brace to the existing stretcher for stability and add a fillet (the frame is already joined and too expensive to re-cut unless absolutely neccessary. Breaking it apart is toooooo scary (I used cornerweld, and besides, the corners are matched). It fits at the top and bottom o.k., but those bowed in sides are a little to close to the edge of the rabbet for my comfort.I had taken the diffence of the top and bottom differences into account before I cut the danged thing, but in my Christmas Stupor forgot to measure the middle. That'll teach me!
 
“That will teach me”

I think we’ve all done that.

I still have a couple of important questions.
Is there enough canvas to re-stretch if you wanted to? I find that you need about 1 1/4" of extra canvas to properly grip the canvas with stretching pliers. You can get away with Less, but it becomes more difficult. What size is the painting, and is it a standard size that you can get adjustable bars?

The other problem is that artists often use poor quality stretchers that will bow in the center. They then will paint it that way and trim the canvas tight to the stretchers, so even if you are able to fix the bow, now you have unpainted exposed canvas at the centers.

I think you have the right idea. Gently brace and tighten the painting, and if that is not good enough, add that fillet. Make sure you explain everything to the client.
 
Leslie, One of my customers travels to St. Petersburg every summer for the sole purpose of bringing home as many of these things as he can carry. As economic conditions in the former Soviet Union continue to deteriorate, the museums there are de-acquisitioning like mad. I think my coustomer is correct in his assumption that the market value of of these pieces will skyrocket in the next ten years.

For that reason I would not restretch the canvases even though they are never square or straight-sided.

Kit
 
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