PRESERVING THE COLLECTION
Restoration Reveals Identity of Artist
Will South, chief curator
There are a lot of clichés in this world.
Comedian George Carlin found them
useful because, he said, “they’re 100%
true.” Perhaps. There’s at least one cliché
that is not true: “Art is forever.” It is not.
Sometimes, it’s not even for very long. Art
gets old. It breaks down. It falls apart. It’s
a lot like us. Some art, simply sitting in a
drawer, deteriorates because it’s made out
of self-destructing materials. Unless you fix
art, it can be ruined.
It is the responsibility of the Curatorial
Department to identify paintings,
sculpture, decorative art, etc. that needs
some repair, or maybe just needs cleaning.
There are always many conservation needs
when you care for a collection of 7,000
objects as the CMA does.
tears or rips, the paint was not peeling
off the canvas), but the surface was very
dark and discolored. Further, there were
numerous scratches on the surface.
This portrait was clearly a candidate for
conservation. A fair question would be:
Out of 7,000 objects, why fix this one?
This past year, a painting stored away in the
vault caught my attention. It was a portrait
of General Thomas Sumter, the very
famous South Carolinian. The painting
seemed reasonably fine structurally (no
First of all, there is the historical
importance of the subject, Thomas
Sumter. General Sumter (1732-1832)
was, at his death, the last surviving
general of the Revolutionary Army. Born
Left: the restored painting of General Thomas Sumter. Right: details reveal cracked paint and blemishes which needed to be repaired in the conservation process.
John (Johann) Stolle
German, life dates unavailable
after Rembrandt Peale (American, 1778-1860)
General Thomas Sumter, 1884
Oil on canvas
Gift of the City of Columbia in 1955.
10
columbiamuseum.org