Art Conservation
Lowy's comprehensive fine arts services include the conservation of paintings, works on paper, antique frames and objects of art. Over the years, countless artworks have been entrusted to the watchful and protective care of our highly skilled and experienced conservators. Our long history in the conservation field, and our longstanding reputation for excellence and uncompromising quality, continues to attract the trust of a diverse, distinguished clientele.
Lowy maintains a conservation staff with broad experiential and art historical knowledge to serve a wide range of collecting interests. In this ever-changing and increasingly scientific field, we continue to offer our clients the most current conservation technologies. All conservation treatments are carried out with extreme care in accordance with established and widely accepted standards of practice.
As part of our conservation services, we provide a complimentary customized condition and treatment report for each artwork that comes through our doors. These detailed reports—which include a digital image of the artwork, a description of the condition of the artwork upon receipt, our recommended treatment and the treatment performed—reflect our ongoing effort to provide superior service to the fine arts community.
Bill Santel
Bill Santel, Chief Conservator, has been with Lowy for more than 30 years, having worked with such notable conservators such as Gustav Berger, Margaret Watherston and Marco Grassi early in his career. He oversees Lowy’s conservation department, while continuing to apply his own considerable conservation skills, including cleaning, inpainting and lining, to the many masterpieces that pass through Lowy’s doors. His extensive experience and knowledge of conservation ensure the continued quality and efficiency that the art community has come to expect from Lowy. His responsibilities also include staffing the department with the finest talent available and keeping abreast of ongoing scientific advancements, which have contributed to Lowy’s reputation as a leader in the field.
Bill graduated from City College in New York in 1972 with a bachelor’s in art history, having also taken additional courses in studio art at New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts. He worked for two New York conservation firms, one headed by Berger the other by Watherston, before joining Lowy. Bill, a dedicated painter himself, especially enjoys contributing to the transformation a painting undergoes when it is properly and beautifully conserved.