Conserving Canvas

The most authoritative publication in nearly fifty years on the subject of conserving paintings on canvas.

In 2019, Yale University, with the support of the Getty Foundation, held an international conference, where nearly four hundred attendees from more than twenty countries gathered to discuss a vital topic: how best to conserve paintings on canvas. It was the first major symposium on the subject since 1974, when wax-resin and glue-paste lining reigned as the predominant conservation techniques. Over the past fifty years, such methods, which were often destructive to artworks, have become less widely used in favor of more minimalist approaches to intervention. More recent decades have witnessed the reevaluation of traditional practices as well as focused research supporting significant new methodologies, procedures, and synthetic materials for the care and conservation of paintings on fabric supports.

Conserving Canvas compiles the proceedings of the conference, presenting a wide array of papers and posters that provide important global perspectives on the history, current state, and future needs of the field. Featuring an expansive glossary of terms that will be an invaluable resource for conservators, this publication promises to become a standard reference for the international conservation community.

The free online edition of this open-access publication is available at getty.edu/publications/conserving-canvas. Also available are free PDF and EPUB downloads of the book.

Author Biography

Cynthia Schwarz is senior associate conservator, Yale University Art Gallery.
Ian McClure was senior director of the Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage and the Susan Morse Hilles Chief Conservator, Yale University Art Gallery.
Jim Coddington is retired chief conservator, Museum of Modern Art, New York.