AN EARLIER ACCIDENT REVISITED

Sir Henry Raeburn, RA (1756-1823)
Portrait of William Ferguson and his Son
oil on canvas
Acc. No: 1593

Earlier Condition: This double portrait was damaged many years before Sir Abe Bailey bequeathed it to South Africa in 1940. An earlier accident had resulted in a large tear in the canvas which was repaired by the application of a composition “lining”. This involved the adhesion of a new canvas to the back of the old one. At this time the original varnishing was removed and damages to the paint surface in the area of the tear were retouched. A final varnish, the second in the work’s history,was then applied. By 2003, an intervention by a conservator was needed again. The previous retouchings around the canvas tear had now darkened with age. The second varnish had yellowed, embrittled and was marked in areas by a cloudy, milky appearance that is called “bloom”.

Current treatment: Following careful tests, surface dirt, old varnish and old retouchings were removed safely and effectively. This revealed the extent of the discoloured retouchings. The rear of the canvas was also cleaned, and missing wooden stretcher keys were replaced. An initial modern, reversible non-yellowing varnish was then applied to isolate the new retouchings from the original paint layer. Previous paint losses were retouched with reversible retouching colours and when this was complete, a final varnish was applied.