Bank of America

Art Conservation Project 2016 Recipients

Conservation matters The Bank of America Art Conservation Project is six years old, and we have had the honor of being part of the conservation of more than one hundred projects in 29 countries on six continents. These projects represent different art movements, styles, media and time periods, but they all represent the creativity and passion of people throughout the world over hundreds, even thousands, of years. This project is a key element of our program of arts support worldwide, and part of our environmental, social and governance program. We are committed to operating in a responsible way that contributes to the health of economies and which benefits our customers, clients, communities and employees. Each day, more than 200,000 Bank of America employees come to work with the shared goal of making our clients’ financial lives better and, ultimately, to contribute to global economic progress. They come from hundreds of different countries and speak hundreds of languages. On one level, the wide-ranging selection of artistic treasures we have helped to conserve over the past six years is an expression of our appreciation of their diverse heritage – and how it benefits our company and our clients. It also reflects our belief that, ultimately, these treasures belong to us all. We hope you enjoy leafing through this booklet of the 2016 Bank of America Art Conservation Project recipients.

Sincerely,

Rena M. De Sisto

D. Allen Blevins

Arts and Culture Program

Arts and Culture Program

Bank of America

Bank of America

The Dalí Museum, St. Petersburg

Nature Morte Vivante (Still Life Fast-Moving), 1956 Oil on canvas, 49¹/₄ × 63 (125.1 × 160 cm) (pictured)

Salvador Dalí (Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech) (Spanish, 1904 –1989)

Portrait of My Dead Brother, 1963 Oil on canvas, 69 × 69 (175.3 × 175.3 cm)

Velasquez Painting the Infanta Marguerita with the Lights and Shadows of His Own Glory, 1958 Oil on canvas, 60½ × 36³/₄ (153.7 × 93.3 cm) (pictured)

The Dalí Museum celebrates the life and work of Spanish Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí and features works from the artist’s entire career. The collection includes more than 2,100 works from every moment and in every medium of his artistic activity, including 96 oil paintings, many original drawings, bookworks, sculptures, photos, prints, manuscripts and an extensive archive of documents. The museum is home to seven of the eighteen masterwork paintings, the most in any museum collection in the world. To be considered a masterwork, the painting must measure at least five feet in any such works will be preserved, namely: Velasquez Painting the Infanta Marguerita with the Lights and Shadows of His Own Glory; Nature Morte

Professional conservation is needed due to the general aging of materials and damage to or changes in frames. Stretchers, lining and paint resulting from environmental impact, extended display, frequent lending and other factors will be addressed. While the proposed treatment is different for each painting, work includes cleaning of the reverse; repairing flaking and cleavage; consolidating lifting paint; securing pin holes; flattening distortions; and removing the painting from and replacing or adjusting the existing stretcher and inserting linings.

© Salvador Dalí, Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York 2016

Vivante (Still Life Fast-Moving); and Portrait of My Dead Brother.

Image unavailable due to copyright restriction © Salvador Dalí, Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York 2016

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direction and have been worked on for more than a year. Three

Centro de las Artes 660, Santiago

Être Atout (Being an Asset), 1960 Polyptych, oil on canvas, five canvases Each painting: 80½ × 78³/₄ (204.5 × 200 cm); 79 × 152³/₄ (200.5 × 388 cm); 79½ × 76³/₄ (202 × 195 cm); 78½ × 78³/₄ (199.5 × 200 cm); 78½ × 77½ (199.5 × 197 cm)

Roberto Matta (Chilean, 1911 – 2002) Eramen, 1985 – 1986 (cast in 1986) Bronze with green patina and coffee pigment 137⁷/₈ × 157½ × 141³/₄ (350 × 400 × 360 cm) (pictured)

La Lumière de L’Honni (The Light of the Outcast), 1963 –1965 Oil on canvas 123¹/₄ × 396 (313 × 1006 cm) (pictured)

Chilean-born artist Roberto Matta (Roberto Sebastián Antonio Matta Echaurren) was an international © 2016 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

figure whose worldview represented a synthesis of European, American and Latin American cultures. As a member of the Surrealist movement and an early mentor to several Abstract Expressionists, Matta broke with both groups to pursue a highly personal artistic vision. His mature work blended abstraction, figuration and multi-dimensional spaces into complex, cosmic landscapes. Matta’s long and prolific career was defined by a strong social conscience and an intense exploration of his internal and external worlds.

Image unavailable due to copyright restriction

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With La Lumière de L’Honni, the artist reinvents the

The museum features a permanent collection hosted

tree. In this sculpture, Matta combines his surreal

myth of Prometheus and the discovery of fire, and

in its Sculpture Garden, with works by Auguste Rodin,

spirit with his interest in observing nature, and both

challenges the wrath of the gods by giving fire to

leaves and trunk surface are treated irregularly. The

men. Instead of the classic figure of Prometheus,

branches are replaced by big leaves, falling and

“L’Honni” (Outcast) is a character invented by Matta

swaying with the rhythm of the wind.

that scandalized the current thinking of the time. His

Salvador Dalí, Giorgio De Chirico and Fernando Casasempere – and a gallery honoring Roberto Matta. Three of his works will be conserved.

© 2016 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, ADAGP, Paris

Eramen was inspired by the image of a windswept

power is fire, which to the artist represents creativity.

Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University

The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino

Richard Diebenkorn (American, 1922 – 1993)

Thomas Gainsborough (British, 1727 – 1788)

Window, 1967 Oil and graphite on canvas 92× 80 (233.7 × 203.2 cm) Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Diebenkorn and anonymous donors Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University

The Blue Boy, 1770 Oil on canvas 70⁵/₈ × 48³/₄ (179.4 × 123.8 cm)

Richard Diebenkorn was one of the key figures in a great transformation

When Thomas Gainsborough exhibited The Blue Boy in 1770 at the

that took place in American art in the 1950s: the rise of California to an

Royal Academy, the portrait of an unknown model did not seduce

artmaking capital rivaling New York. His work is still studied and emulated

its viewers with an image of celebrity, but with Gainsborough’s

by students of painting today. His seductive colors and surfaces and exquisite

command of paint and mastery of brushwork. The Blue Boy remained

sense of balance between planes – and between figuration and abstraction –

a beloved treasure in England until Henry E. Huntington brought it

came to define the California school of Abstract Expressionism in the early

to San Marino, California, in 1921. Since its 1928 public debut, the

1950s. During the 1950s and through the 1960s, Diebenkorn was noted for

painting has drawn more than 30 million visitors and has never left

developing a unique form of Northern California realism, now referred to as

The Huntington. Now, recent examination has revealed several areas

the Bay Area Figurative School.

of concern with regard to the painting’s condition that necessitate its conservation.

While researching Diebenkorn’s celebrated work Window, an alternate a modified digital camera that captures infrared light; however, this camera only detects a small band of the infrared spectrum. Further exploration of this work with new infrared reflectography equipment, which is sensitive to a much larger range of the infrared spectrum, can provide more information about the underpainting.

Recognizing the importance of this work to the institution’s visitors,

© The Richard Diebenkorn Foundation.

composition by the artist was found. This underpainting was discovered using

The Huntington’s conservators have developed a treatment plan that will keep The Blue Boy on public view throughout much of the process. Conservators will begin by stabilizing The Blue Boy’s flaking paint to prevent loss and damage, and replacing the failing lining with a new support that meets current conservation standards. Old varnish, overpaint and dirt will be removed to make nuances of color

The painting will also be transported to Stanford Hospital to conduct

visible, while new varnish layers will saturate colors and bring back

with X-rays and in the infrared, it is believed that a better picture of what is below Window will be obtained, furthering our understanding of the artist’s working method. Research will commence in advance of the loan of Window, which will be traveling for the next year as part of the Matisse/Diebenkorn exhibition at Baltimore Museum of Art and SFMOMA. Once the work returns

Photograph © 2016 Fredrik Nilsen

X-radiography at their state-of-the-art facility. By analyzing the painting

tonal contrast. When the process is completed during The Huntington’s 2019 Centennial year, the structural improvements will ensure that The Blue Boy can remain on view for another one hundred years and beyond. Visually, treatment will reveal the spectrum of Gainsborough’s

to Stanford, this research will culminate in a companion installation in the

minutely calibrated tints – indigo, lapis, slate, azure, charcoal and

museum’s modern and contemporary gallery.

cream – which make up the shimmering blue satin that gave the painting its name and made it The Huntington’s best-known work of art.

Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo

Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit

Joan Mitchell (American, 1925 –1992)

John Thomas Biggers, Ph.D. (American, 1924 – 2001)

George Went Swimming at Barnes Hole, but It Got Too Cold, 1957, oil on canvas, 85¹/₄× 78¹/₄ (216.6 × 198.8 cm)

Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York. Gift of Seymour H. Knox, Jr., 1958

The Mandolin Player, c. 1940s Oil on canvas 36× 26 × 1 (framed) (91.4 × 66 × 2.5 cm) Collection of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. Gift of Ms. Jean Kantrowitz

Blue Territory, 1972, oil on canvas, 103 × 71 (261.6 × 180.3 cm)

Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York. Gift of Seymour H. Knox, Jr., 1972

Rosebud, 1977, oil on canvas, 102½× 71 (260.4 × 180.3 cm) (pictured)

Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Armand J. Castellani, 1982

Joan Mitchell is known for the compositional rhythms, bold

John T. Biggers was a master artist, educator, author, draftsman, sculptor

coloration and sweeping gestural brushstrokes of her large and

and mentor. He is one of the most prominent African American artists

often multi-paneled paintings. Inspired by landscape, nature and

to emerge in the years following World War II. Maya Angelou was once

poetry, her intent was not to create a recognizable image but

quoted as saying that Biggers “leads us through his expressions into the

to convey emotions. Mitchell’s early success in the 1950s was

discovery of ourselves at our most intimate level.”

continued to create abstract paintings throughout her life. Three works by Joan Mitchell will be conserved: George Went Swimming at Barnes Hole, but It Got Too Cold; Blue Territory; and Rosebud. The Albright-Knox Art Gallery acquired each painting within five years of its respective completion. All three paintings face similar conservation issues: the fragile paint of the impasto is lifting and detaching from the canvas. George Went Swimming at Barnes Hole, but It Got Too Cold will be inpainted to treat small losses of paint at the center of the canvas. The loose impasto on Blue Territory will be consolidated. Conservation of both these paintings will take place on site at the Albright-Knox. Rosebud, however, requires the most extensive conservation and is no longer suitable for exhibition. This work will travel to the Intermuseum Conservation Association (ICA) in Cleveland for systemic examination and consolidation of loose paint with a conservation grade adhesive. These efforts are critical, as the current state of all three paintings prevents the exhibition and loan of these archetypes of the evolution of Mitchell’s work.

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Biggers was born the youngest of seven in Gastonia, North Carolina. He attended Hampton Institute, now Hampton University, where he studied Art © John T. Biggers Estate/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY. Estate Represented by Michael Rosenfeld Gallery

referred to herself as the “last Abstract Expressionist,” and she

Image courtesy of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery Digital Assets Collection. Photograph: Biff Henrich. © 2016 Estate of Joan Mitchell

striking at a time when few women artists were recognized. She

art under such notable figures as Viktor Lowenfeld, Elizabeth Catlett and Charles White. The Mandolin Player was accepted into the Charles H. Wright Museum’s collection in 1988. It is a perfect example of Biggers’ command of form and movement, and the unique voice that he gave to marginalized African Americans. In this night scene, Biggers depicts the mandolin player strumming his instrument against the backdrop of an impoverished black community. The work is indicative of the Social Realist Movement of the 1930s and 1940s and is firmly grounded in conversation with other works in the history of painting depicting musicians. The conservation effort for The Mandolin Player will focus on an examination of the painted surface and substrates to stabilize the canvas and prevent further deterioration. The varnish is dark with age and grime, and the paint has craquelure throughout. Cleaning, removal of surface soil and stains, and consolidation will help restore as much of the original color and hue as possible.

The Frick Pittsburgh

Denver Art Museum (DAM)

Three medieval tapestries

Cristóbal de Villalpando (Mexican, c. 1649 – 1714)

Virgin of Valvanera, c. 1710 Oil on canvas 79½× 58¹/₈ (201.9 ×147.6 cm) Gift of Frederick and Jan Mayer

The Court of Love, tapestry, Flemish, early sixteenth century, wool and silk threads, 107½ × 136 (273.1 × 345.4 cm) Frick Art & Historical Center, Pittsburgh. Purchased by Helen Clay Frick 1968 from Rosenberg and Stiebel, New York Two Musicians, tapestry, millefleurs style, French, School of Loire, early sixteenth century, wool and silk threads, 96 × 90 (243.8 × 228.6 cm) Frick Art & Historical Center, Pittsburgh. Purchased by Helen Clay Frick 1965 from Rosenberg and Stiebel, New York Lady and Attendants, tapestry, millefleurs style, French, School of Loire, early sixteenth century, wool and silk threads, 94 × 68 (238.8 × 172.7 cm) (pictured) Frick Art & Historical Center, Pittsburgh

The Frick Pittsburgh has four tapestries purchased by founder Helen Clay Frick

The Virgin of Valvanera by Cristóbal de Villalpando is a

specifically for The Frick Art Museum rotunda. Three require treatment. The

large-scale oil painting on canvas, made in colonial Mexico

tapestries are on permanent display, and over time their own weight causes

c. 1700. The painting entered the DAM’s collection in

accelerated fracturing of fibers and losses to the image.

1999 as a long-term loan and was then accessioned into

The need for conservation is directly correlated to the size of the tapestry. The largest tapestry, The Court of Love, dates from the early sixteenth century and requires the most conservation – it has a higher percentage of fragile silk threads than the other two, but it is also inherently heavier, which causes it to have more open weaving slits and more issues to address. Typical of Flemish weavings, The Court of Love depicts a complex, painterly scene, probably derived from mythology. This narrative of this tapestry is one that hasn’t been completely deciphered. Current scholarship suggests that it depicts the courtship of Atalanta. (Atalanta refused to marry and finally conceded that she would only marry the man who could beat her in a footrace.) The other two tapestries, Two Musicians and Lady and Attendants, are examples of French weaving from the Loire Valley in the early sixteenth century in the millefleurs, or thousand flowers, style, due to their decorative backgrounds sprinkled with complex arrangements of birds and flowers. In contrast to the work of the Flemish weavers, the images are much more medieval in character – there is no sense of depth to the composition, and there is little attempt to portray the figures as occupying real space. The complex backgrounds, with their details and changes in yarn color, create more weaving slits, and therefore more opportunities for the tapestry to open up and experience losses over time.

the permanent collection as a gift in 2008. The subject of the Virgin of Valvanera is European in origin and derives from a legend of a statue of the Virgin hidden in a tree during a Muslim invasion in the area of Valvanera, Spain. Cristóbal de Villalpando is considered the most accomplished artist of the colonial period in Mexico and a pioneer in developing a unique painting style decidedly divergent from European traditions. Formerly attributed to a “follower of Villalpando,” the work was recently given a firm attribution by two separate scholars and is now an accepted work in the artist’s oeuvre. There are only three artworks in American museums by this artist, two of which (including the Valvanera) are in the DAM’s collection. Given the importance of this work to the museum’s renowned Spanish Colonial collection and the field of study, the DAM will develop a variety of programs and visitor engagement opportunities. Through program content, visitors will follow conservators’ progress and learn about the necessity for preservation and the practice of conservation in art museums.

The Glass House, New Canaan

The Glass House, completed 1949 Approximate exterior dimensions: 538½× 301½ × 126½ (16.37 m × 9.18 m × 3.82 m) Interior height: 105 (3.18 m) 1,728 sq. ft. (526.7 sq. m) Glass, brick and steel construction on concrete slab foundation

Philip Johnson (American, 1906 – 2005)

“It works very well, for the simple reason that the wallpaper is so handsome,” said architect Philip Johnson of his Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut. When it was completed in 1949, the iconic house upended conventional notions about domesticity and architecture in American culture and beyond. Its four transparent walls frame dramatic views of the surrounding 49-acre landscape that Johnson and his partner David Whitney meticulously cultivated. Inside, areas for dining, living, working and sleeping are demarcated by freestanding wooden cabinetry, a painting attributed to Nicolas Poussin, a sculpture by Elie Nadelman, and a brick cylinder that includes a fireplace and bathroom. Throughout their life together, Johnson and Whitney hosted a series of legendary gatherings at the Glass House that brought together artists, architects, philanthropists, collectors and other cultural figures. Today, as a site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Glass House continues this rich tradition by presenting exhibitions, performances and other public programs. Conservation of this historic house has begun with the temporary stabilization of its ceiling, which is discolored, sagging and failing. The approximately 1,800-square-foot ceiling is a self-colored plaster, textured to appear like exterior stucco, and is reminiscent of rural housing in southern Europe. The in various locations. The fully restored ceiling will enhance each visitor’s experience of Johnson’s intended design of the house as well as the objects contained inside.

Photograph © Robin Hill

ceiling is intended to be flush with the top of the glass, but has pulled down

Bullock Texas State History Museum, Austin

Michael C. Carlos Museum of Emory University, Atlanta

Elijah E. Myers (American, 1832 – 1909)

Indigenous American textiles

The Original Texas State Capitol Goddess of Liberty, 1888 Painted zinc sculpture Height: 16 (4.88 m)

Llama doublecloth textile with human figures, llamas and stepped pattern, Chancay, c. 1100 – 1470, camelid and cotton fibers. Ex coll. C. Clay and Virginia Aldridge Decimal khipu, Inka, c. 1550. Ex coll. C. Clay and Virginia Aldridge

From August 19 through December 17, 2017, the Michael C. Carlos

through 1985. She is thought to have been inspired by different

Museum of Emory University will present Threads of Time: Tradition

personifications of Liberty, including Zeus’ daughter, Pallas Athena.

and Change in Indigenous American Textiles. The exhibition will include

Capitol architect Elijah E. Myers followed artistic traditions that

approximately one hundred textiles and related objects from the

featured women as the embodiment of desirable societal qualities.

Americas collection, representing techniques and styles spanning more

During repainting of the dome in 1983, workers saw significant deterioration caused by exposure to the elements. The statue was lowered by helicopter to the ground in 1986, and an aluminum alloy replica was installed in its place. All sections of the statue, except for the hand holding the star, are original. The original hand and star are on exhibition at the Capitol Visitors Center, along with a time capsule from 1888 found inside. After conservation treatment and stabilization in the 1990s, the Goddess was installed in the Bullock Museum just prior to the museum’s opening in 2001. The conservation process will include an assessment of the stability of the statue, including the paint and zinc, as well as a plan for specialized cleaning. Given the prominence of the sculpture within the Bullock Museum, and the statue’s weight – approximately 3000 pounds – it must remain in situ for all stages of the project. The conservators’ work will be performed during the museum’s hours of operation and in full view of the public. Once the assessment and cleaning is completed, the Bullock Museum will work with the Texas A&M Center for Heritage Conservation to map the sculpture digitally. Each step of the process will be photographed and filmed to be shared on the museum’s website.

Photographs © Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University

The Goddess of Liberty stood atop the Texas State Capitol from 1888

than 2,000 years. The Americas collection has the longest continuing textile record in the world. The exhibition will explore how these beautiful and complex objects embody traditional values, materials and ideas while also embracing new techniques, imagery and forms. Due to their fragile conditions and extreme vulnerability to light, textiles are rarely displayed. This conservation project will prepare all objects for the exhibition as well as for future use in teaching and research. Textiles will be cleaned, repaired, stabilized, reshaped and mounted. Thread counts, weave structures and fiber types will be documented, and dating or dye analysis will be conducted where appropriate. Images of the conserved textiles and technical information about their construction will be included in the digital exhibition catalogue. Textile Objects Conservation in Minnesota will collaborate with the Carlos Museum to complete this multifaceted project. Consistent with the teaching mission of this university museum, students and interns will be involved in the project, contributing to hands-on treatment and mounting as well as research and documentation. This project and the resulting exhibition will provide an important opportunity to present these extraordinary hidden treasures to students, scholars and the public.

Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth Claude Monet (French, 1840 – 1926) Weeping Willow, 1918 – 1919 Oil on canvas

39¹/₄ × 47¹/₄ (99.7 × 120 cm)

Beginning in 1913, and after a hiatus from painting that lasted nearly two years, Claude Monet returned to his garden at Giverny to reinvent himself. The many motifs available to him there inspired him to paint series of paintings on closely related themes, with bold new brushwork and heightened color. During World War I, with his son on the front, Monet could hear the noise of cannons as German artillery approached Paris. The painter’s imagination turned to the willow tree in his water garden. The saule pleureur – a weeping, or mourning, willow – embodied the feelings that he had about the conflict and the loss of life that it entailed. Few of Monet’s easel paintings of Weeping Willow were ever finished or sold in his lifetime. An exception is the painting acquired in 1996 by the Kimbell Art Museum. The painting was surrounded by an original frame of Louis XIII design, with a slim profile – about 3½ inches wide. The painting lost this frame over time, which was replaced by larger and more extravagant moldings. The museum has acquired a fine seventeenth-century example, with appropriate carving, gilding and – above all – the proper width. The frame that has been chosen for Weeping Willow is an antique molding of Louis XIII design. In keeping with Monet’s own choices, it is relatively narrow with respect to the large scale of the painting. Reframed as Monet last saw it, the painting will be one of the key works in the exhibition Monet: The Late Years, to be seen in Fort Worth and San Francisco in 2018 – 2019.

Missouri History Museum, St. Louis Alfredo Ramos Martínez (Mexican, 1871 – 1946) Flores Mexicanas (Mexican Flowers), 1929 Oil on canvas in original frame 108 × 144 (274.3 × 365.8 cm)

Alfredo Ramos Martínez is one of the most important Mexican artists of the twentieth century, sometimes referred to as the “Father of Modern Art” in Mexico. He was a painter, muralist and educator who lived and worked in Mexico, Paris and Los Angeles. Martínez is best known for his serene and empathetic paintings of traditional Mexican people and scenes. Flores Mexicanas is an important work of art for its creator, its patron, its recipient and the history of U.S.-Mexican relations in the twentieth century. Two specialist conservators from the Midwest Art Conservation Center (MACC) in Minneapolis traveled to St. Louis for an onsite assessment of the painting and frame. Their proposal will inform the project timeline and details of treatment, but several steps have been identified. The massive frame is too large to fit into the MACC labs, and breaking it down prior to shipment will make crating and shipping safer and easier. After treatment in Minneapolis, the painting and frame will be sent disassembled, and MACC conservators will return to St. Louis to reassemble the frame and finish fills and touch-ups in situ. The project is anticipated to be completed and ready for public display in 2019.

© The Alfredo Ramos Martinez Research Project, LLC

frame will be shipped back to the Missouri History Museum. The

Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago

László Moholy-Nagy (American, b. Hungary, 1895 – 1946), Untitled, 1946, India ink and crayon on paper Framed: 23× 26½ × 2 (58.4 × 67.3 × 5.1 cm); Sight: 14³/₄ × 18½ (37.5 × 47 cm) Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Gift of Albert A. Robin

Eleven works of modern and contemporary art Dara Birnbaum (American, b. 1946), PM Magazine, 1982, color video, bromide enlargements with speed rail suspension system, painted wall and lights, 71 × 95 × 20¹/₈ (180.3 × 241.3 × 51.1 cm) Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Restricted gift of Joseph and Jory Shapiro, Mr. and Mrs. E.A. Bergman, and Mrs. Robert B. Mayer

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) has selected seminal works from its permanent collection for conservation. A grouping of pieces will be featured in an exhibition celebrating the Museum’s 50th Anniversary – What is Contemporary? – and draws from the MCA’s landmark collection of art made since 1945 to reveal how key art historical movements have emerged over time. The selected works for conservation will range from the

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first work in the MCA’s collection, Six Women, a mixed by Andy Warhol, to an oil painting, Muscular Alternative, by Christina Ramberg. The exhibition will be organized around a series of carefully curated themes: (1) the mind, body and soul; (2) space and place; (3) politics and power; and (4) media and ideology. What is Contemporary? will reimagine the art historical canon, not only forming unexpected connections but raising an open-ended question for the next generation of artists, collectors and patrons: Where do we go from here? While many of the works have been well maintained, some have never been shown because of their poor condition. The conservation efforts will ensure that each of the selected works will vividly illustrate a pivotal moment in the MCA’s history, and in contemporary art practice.

© 2016 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Photograph: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

media sculpture by Marisol, to Jackie Frieze, a silk screen

Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro (MAM)

Olafur Eliasson (Danish, b. 1967), Convex/concave, 1995/2000, reflecting mirror

foil on frame and pneumatic pump system. Mirror: 63 dia. (160 cm dia.)

Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Gift of the Howard and Donna

Stone Collection in honor of Madeleine Grynsztejn

Cândido Portinari (Brazilian, 1903 – 1962)

Leon Golub (American, 1922 – 2004), Mercenaries I, 1979, acrylic on

unstretched linen, 120 × 166 (304.8 × 421.6 cm)

Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Gift of Lannan Foundation

Bodas de Caná (Wedding at Cana), 1956/1957 Oil over wood

67× 157½ (170 × 400 cm)

Donald Judd (American, 1928 – 1994), Untitled, 1970, stainless steel and Plexiglas,

ten parts, each 6× 27 × 24 (15.2 × 68.6 × 61 cm)

Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Gerald S. Elliott Collection

Marisol (Marisol Escobar) (American, b. France, 1930 – 2016),

Six Women, 1965 – 1966, wood, paint, mirrors, shoes, Formica and plaster,

69× 105 × 52 (175.3 × 266.7 × 132.1 cm)

Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Gift of the artist

Jim Nutt (American, b. 1938), Summer Salt, 1970, acrylic on vinyl and enamel

on wood. Panel: 61¹/₄ × 36 × 3½ (155.6 × 91.4 ×8.9 cm)

Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Gift of Dennis Adrian in

honor of Claire B. Zeisler

Huang Yong Ping (Chinese, b. 1954), Pentagon, 2007, ceramic, soil and plants,

19³/₄ × 216½ × 216½ (50 × 550 × 550 cm)

Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Joseph and Jory Shapiro Fund

Christina Ramberg (American, 1946 – 1995), Muscular Alternative, 1979, oil on

canvas. Panel: 47¹/₄ × 35¹/₄ (120 × 89.5 cm); framed: 49 × 37½

(124.5 × 95.2 cm) (pictured)

Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Bequest of Sandra Jorgensen

Andy Warhol (American, 1928 – 1987), Jackie Frieze, 1964, silkscreen on linen, 20 × 128 × 1½ (50.8 × 325 × 3.8 cm)

Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Gift of Beatrice Cummings Mayer

© Cândido Portinari

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Albert Oehlen (German, b. 1954), Auch Einer (Another One), 1985, oil and

lacquer on canvas. Canvas: 74½ × 50³/₄ × 1½ (189.2 × 128.9 × 3.8 cm);

framed: 75³/₈ × 51⁷/₈ × 1¹/₄ (191.5 × 131.7 × 3.2 cm)

Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Gift of Robert B. and

Honey Dootson in honor of Bruce Guenther

Cândido Portinari was one of the most important Brazilian

to the family’s new residence in the Lagoa district of

painters of the twentieth century. One of his best-known works

Rio de Janeiro, where it remains to this day. It was subsequently

is Guerra e Paz (War and Peace), a mural painted as a gift to the

bequeathed to MAM Rio by his widow, Edméa de San Tiago Dantas.

United Nations for its headquarters in New York.

In 2010, preparations began for the relocation of the four

In the same year, Portinari began work on another panel,

panels that make up the work to the museum. A specialized

Bodas de Caná (Wedding at Cana), commissioned by

team will clean the surface and fix any flaking areas, apply a

Francisco Clementino de San Tiago Dantas for his residence

protective facing where necessary and pack it adequately for

in Rio de Janeiro. Correspondence kept by the Portinari Project

transportation by a specialized team. Once Bodas de Caná has

leads the museum to believe that conversations about the work

been received at the museum, it will be prepared for exhibition,

began in 1953 and continued until it was actually produced, in

giving the public their first chance to appreciate this work after

1956 and 1957. In the 1960s, the painting was transferred

it spent sixty years in a private residence.

Pérez Art Museum Miami George Segal (American, 1924 – 2000)

Abraham’s Farewell to Ishmael, 1987 Painted plaster 107× 54× 54 (271.8 × 137.2 × 137.2 cm) Collection Pérez Art Museum Miami

Gift of The George and Helen Segal Foundation, Inc.

Painter and sculptor George Segal was a member of the Pop Art movement of the 1960s, along with Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. From 1965 to 1999, he perfected the technique of creating real-life tableaux, using many close friends and family members as models. Segal’s distinctive style separated his work from that of other artists in the Pop Art movement by staying closely related to personal experience and human values. He once said that, because he was from the proletariat, he wanted to deal directly with the places around and familiar to himself, rather than with “elegant” topics. Segal’s Abraham’s Farewell to Ishmael is part of the permanent collection of the Pérez Art Museum Miami. It is a sculptural representation of a key episode in the Old Testament revolving around a dilemma faced by the patriarch Abraham. In this story, Abraham’s wife Sarah seeks to ensure the right of inheritance of her son Isaac by demanding that her husband expel his mistress Hagar and her first-born son from their home. After receiving Divine promise of Hagar and Ishmael’s safety, Abraham reluctantly banishes them to the desert. Segal cast the figures from real models, capturing a range of human emotions, from the father’s grief-stricken tenderness to Sarah’s rage and Hagar’s resigned acceptance. The conservation effort will include repairs to abrasion and loss on the high points of throughout the top portion of the rock; flaking paint; cracks throughout; and correction of retouches and overpaints that are visible throughout the work, carried out at a time before the piece came into the collection.

© Pérez Art Museum Miami. Photograph © Allan Finkelman

the painted plaster throughout; areas of intensive damage evident in several figures and

Tokyo National Museum

Seattle Art Museum, Asian Art Museum

Haniwa (terracotta tomb figure) Warrior in keiko armor

Two folding screens

Kofun period, sixth century C.E.

Terracotta

Height: 51³/₈ (130.5 cm)

Scenes of Life in and around the Capital Japanese, Edo period, second half of the seventeenth century Ink, color and gold on paper Each 67⁷/₈ × 149³/₄ (172.4 × 380.4 cm)

Haniwa are hollow terracotta figures made by kneading clay into a coil to be shaped and fired. Most haniwa representing humans are half-figure, rarely full-figure as is the work presented here. They are generally unearthed from imperial kofun (old tomb) tumuli (burial mounds) that were built in Japan during the late fifth to the sixth century C.E. for the burial of powerful regional rulers. Haniwa figures were believed to protect the deceased in the afterlife. Warrior in keiko armor wears face and neck guards, as well as a beaked helmet, with armor made by connecting small iron plates together with leather cords. He also wears guards on both arms. An archer’s wrist protector is wrapped around his left arm holding a bow, and he rests his right hand on the hilt of his sword. Features seen in this outstanding piece of haniwa suggest

Rakuchu rakugai-zu, or Scenes of Life in and around the Capital,

issues requiring structural conservation treatment to preserve

that the work was executed by a master craftsman. Although

is a pair of six-panel Japanese screens from the Edo period,

them and forestall further damage. New internal wooden lattice

many haniwa are known to exist, this work is the only example

executed in the “town painter,” or machi-eshi, manner. The view

frames will provide support and address damaging stresses.

designated as a National Treasure.

of Kyoto is one of a holiday, showing all classes of people –

Degraded mounting papers and fabrics will be replaced, and

Damage to the head, arms, shoulders and accessories (weapons) is light. However, much of the lower body is fractured, and many fragments lost. Because of the deterioration of gypsum, the work is in danger of falling apart. Proposed conservation will consist of a survey of the condition of the work; disassembly of the haniwa and cleaning of the old gypsum and adhesive; joining disassembled pieces with new adhesive and infilling the

residents and visitors alike – moving about the city and into

old surface repairs will be removed and surface damages

the countryside, with the imperial castle dominating the work.

reintegrated. The screen hinges have undergone temporary

The screens present a recognizable record of life with seasonal

treatments over the decades, and repairs will restore original

outings and festivals depicted among architectural landmarks

function and prevent further instability. Scenes of Life will be

and sites of scenic beauty. Such scenes were popular with

conserved using traditional Japanese methods and materials.

Kyoto residents, as well as with visiting samurai and merchants

Seattle Art Museum is committed to the preservation and

who sought souvenirs of their experience in the city.

presentation of Asian art, and this conservation project will give

missing parts; reintegrating the infilled parts; and the creation of

Seattle Art Museum acquired these screens in 1975, when they

a supporting structure.

were already fragile. Their condition is now poor, with serious

museum visitors an opportunity to appreciate this important and exquisite pair of screens for years to come.

Istanbul Archaeological Museums

Newark Museum

Conservation and restoration of 548 artifacts from excavations on the Asian side of Istanbul Late Roman and Byzantine periods (fourth to fifteenth centuries

George Peter Alexander Healy (American, 1813 – 1894) Frederic Edwin Church (American, 1826 – 1900) Jervis McEntee (American, 1828 – 1891)

Pictured, from top to bottom: Architectural revetment fragment, eleventh – twelfth century Low-karat gold coin (hyperpyron), fourteenth century Glass scent bottle, eleventh – thirteenth century Holy Bread stamp, eleventh – twelfth century

The Arch of Titus, 1871 Oil on canvas 84 × 59 (213.4 × 149.9 cm) Bequest of J. Ackerman Coles, 1926

Istanbul Archaeological Museums (IAMs) opened to the public in

After the Civil War, American artists became increasingly cosmopolitan,

1891 as an Ottoman imperial museum in the outer gardens of the

traveling to Europe for extended periods and taking the opportunity

Topkapı Palace Museum. The museum houses an eclectic collection

to study the great art of the past. This monumentally scaled painting

dating from the Neolithic to the Late Ottoman periods, ranging

depicts two of the most iconic and important ancient structures in

geographically from the Balkans to Africa, which were then within

Rome, the Arch of Titus and the Colosseum, with the three artists

the borders of the Ottoman Empire.

who collaborated on the work shown in the foreground. George Peter

Since its foundation, IAMs has conducted several salvage excavations in and around Istanbul. However, the city has never witnessed efforts on such a scale as in the last decade. On the Asian side of the city across the Bosphorus, excavations brought to light innumerable small finds. These have provided new evidence for the study of suburban

Alexander Healy painted the portraits; he depicted himself in the center of the group next to Frederic Edwin Church, who is seated, and Jervis McEntee, who holds a large book. Standing under the arch to the left of the artists is the renowned author Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and his daughter, Edith.

lifestyles and commercial life and have helped archaeologists to

In terms of the collaboration, Church painted the Arch, and McEntee

develop a better understanding of ancient material culture, such as

painted the Colosseum. Although collaborations of this kind were

architectural decoration, metalwork and earthenware. These small

common in European art, they were unprecedented in American

finds cover a wide chronological span, and the majority date from the

painting when this work was executed. Transcending the personal

Late Roman through Byzantine periods (fourth to fifteenth centuries).

friendships of the individuals portrayed – McEntee was a student

This project consists of two main components, the conservation and restoration of 548 items and an accompanying publication.

of Church’s – this grandly scaled history painting celebrates and memorializes the camaraderie of American artists and writers abroad.

It is a cooperative effort by Byzantine scholars in Koç University’s

The painting will be removed from its frame and cleaned of surface

two research centers (ANAMED – Research Center for Anatolian

dirt and grime, and accretions from the painting will be removed as

Civilizations; and GABAM – Center for Late Antique and Byzantine

possible. Minor paint losses will be filled and retouched using reversible

Studies) and IAMs to make new archaeological material and

restoration colors, and new varnish will be applied to integrate

knowledge accessible to both the public and scholars. These efforts

retouching. Flaked gilding on the frame will be retouched or replaced.

will also promote the field of Byzantine studies at IAMs, which is the leading cultural institution in Istanbul.

The Wallace Collection, London

Venice: the Bacino di San Marco from San Giorgio Maggiore, c. 1735 – 1744 Oil on canvas, 61⁷/₈× 86⁵/₈ (157 × 220 cm) (pictured)

Giovanni Antonio Canal (Canaletto) (Italian, 1697 – 1768)

Venice: the Bacino di San Marco from the Canale della Giudecca, c. 1735 – 1744 Oil on canvas, 61⁷/₈× 86⁵/₈ (157 × 220 cm)

Giovanni Antonio Canal, more commonly known as Canaletto, was probably the most significant practitioner of the Italian Vedute – topographical landscapes, typically showing a recognizable cityscape or view. His paintings of Venice, admired for their precision and detail, were extremely popular in eighteenth-century Britain, primarily owing to the Grand Tour tradition and the rise of a “souvenir” market. The Venetian Vedute collection at the Wallace Collection is impressive in the variety that the paintings show in subject matter, formats and dimensions. A new five-year research project will carry out detailed technical and art historical research into each painting and will give each work the conservation treatment needed to stabilize its condition and renew its vibrant colors. Also crucial to the project will be the insight the Vedute collection gives into British collecting trends and developments through the eighteenth and nineteenth century as the works were acquired by the Marquesses of Hertford, who over five generations of collecting created the Wallace Collection. Two unusually large and remarkable Canalettos were acquired by the 1st Marquess of Hertford at an unknown date, probably as a reminder of the Grand Tour he undertook in 1738 and 1739. The paintings form a pendant, showing the Bacino di San Marco from opposite vantage points. The conservation of these two works will start with the

Photograph © The Wallace Collection

research project.

© 2016 Bank of America Corporation.