CONSERVE
Masterpiece Hiding in Plain Sight BY JULIAN BICKERSTETH, CHAIR OF THE NATIONAL TRUST COLLECTIONS COMMITTEE
Art conservation is a rewarding profession, but rarely does it lead to the excitement of a recent project at Woodford Academy. This is the story behind the unexpected discovery of one of the most significant works in the National Trust’s collection.
The painting at the Woodford Academy presented as a rather dull still life of a disrupted table setting – a pulled back tablecloth, a half-eaten pie, remnants of nutshells and a goblet on its side. Painted on two wooden boards which had come apart and housed in a gilt frame, the work had clearly seen better days. How it came to be at Woodford was unknown. When Gertrude McManamey bequeathed the house to the National Trust in 1979, it came with its contents, including many original oil paintings, believed to have been acquired by Alfred Fairfax, nephew of Sydney Morning Herald founder James Fairfax, who purchased Woodford in 1868. When and where Alfred might have acquired the still life is still a mystery.
Donations make the difference The National Trust’s Rescue.Revive.Reveal conservation appeal provided the impetus and funds to investigate what might lie under the painting’s dull surface and determine whether it was, in fact, a Heda. Thanks to the generosity of donors, the enigma of the still life was about to be revealed. The first task was to document and assess the painting. Our conservators discovered a heavy layer of dirt, a discoloured varnish that was giving the whole composition a yellow-brown hue, flaking paint and evidence of previous restorations. The examination also gave us our first clue that the work might be older than thought. A stamped indent in
First examined in Melbourne in 2009, the painting was thought to be most likely a nineteenth-century work. But despite the dullness of the painting, the National Trust had long recognised that the quality of the execution was outstanding, and the imagery was typical of Dutch seventeenth-century artist Willem Claesz Heda (1594 – 1680). Heda is considered one of the great masters of the Dutch Golden Age of painting and specialised in still life, often using the same plate, knife and carafe. One of the characteristics of these works is that the plates always appear to be about to fall off the table. 8
National Trust (NSW)
Below Claire Heasman, Senior Paintings Conservator at International Conservation Services, carefully retouching the artwork (photo by ICS). Opposite The painting after treatment (photo by ICS).
