The painting was initially faced with a Japanese tissue and a natural aqueous adhesive to provide protection to the paint layer. Lowy conservator, Fred Schmidt, proposed that the canvas he rolled away from the upson board, taking a thin layer of the board with it. This enabled conservitors to remove the canvas from the bulk of its auxiliary supports before the artwork was transported to the Lowy conservation studio. There the vacuum hot table had been enlarged to fit the canvas in preparation for treatment. Remnants of the board and gesso were mechanically removed layer by layer, until arriving at a workable surface level to bond existing tears with epoxy resin and mulberry tissue. The canvas verso was further leveled off with an application of reversible BEVA gesso in order to attain a smooth and even surface, eliminating

Above: "Commerce on the Levee in the 80s" by Oscar E. Beminghaus after conservation.
Left: The lining of the Beminghaus on the vacuum hot table.

potential surface distortions during the lining process while at the same time providing additional support in holding down the bonded tears.

The painting was then prepared for lining. Finding auxiliary supports large enough to accommodate the original canvas required investigation into materials and suppliers. Lowy conservator, David Yanez, determined that the artwork would have two interlayers of Pecap-7-60 (a polyester fabric) which would be carefully seamed together to avoid a seam being detected on the face of the painting. It was essential that the lining material be {continued on page2)

According to Jose Crispin, a master finisher who has been with Lowy for 17 years, "there are literally as many different ways to finish a frame as there are paintings to put in them. Each finish is the result of a carefully considered recipe. And like the work of a great chef, a minor change can completely change the flavor of the finished work." Here is a brief description of how three different patinas are achieved:

A Similar Start: Before a finish can be applied to a frame, it must be prepared from its raw wood state. This usually involves applying a number of layers of gesso, and bole, or clay. The gesso provides a uniform surface to support the thin layer of gold to be applied, and is either sprayed or brushed on to the wood. Without this substance, the gold would pick up the porous texture of the wood itself. The gesso is usually sanded down to the

smoothest possible texture, so that the gold will pick up only the shape of the carving. In the case of some antique finishes, the gesso may be left slightly rougher if the desired surface is not entirely smooth. The layers of bole or clay are applied in a similar fashion to the gesso appli-cation. The main function of the bole, however, is to enhance the color of the gold on top, and it comes in a wide variety of colors,
(continued on page 2)