Collections Winter 2014 Volume 98 | Page 12

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