Paid Post-graduate Interns at CCI — 2010
Jessica Veevers
After finishing an undergraduate degree in Fine Art and Biology at Guelph University in Guelph, Ontario in 2001 and taking two trips to Italy to study art and language, I realized I had been preparing for a career in art conservation for a good portion of my life. During my second trip to Italy (in 2006–2007), I completed an introductory fresco conservation course in Florence and worked with a private conservator in Rome. Upon my return to Canada, I began a Master of Art Conservation program at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.
It is an incredible thrill to be working at CCI. My incurable quest for answers to whythings happen and my constant desire to delve deeper into these issues have infinite potential for exploration here through working collaboratively with CCI staff. Both the conservation scientists and conservators are eager to offer their expertise, advice, and support.
During my 1-year internship, I will be focussing on the following three projects:
- Treatment of a painting by Sir Frederick Banting to prepare it for exhibition — Banting is well-known for his work with insulin, but he is not generally recognized as an “au plein aire” painter who often travelled and painted alongside A.Y. Jackson. He completed this painting, Harbour, in 1908 when he was just 17 years of age, and it provides early evidence of his love for painting. Harbour is a small oil painting on a deteriorated card support. When it arrived at CCI for treatment, it was broken into pieces and somewhat discoloured from surface dirt and possibly soot from a fire. The treatment will be a collaborative effort between the paintings and paper conservation labs, and will consist of joining the pieces together and cleaning the surface to stabilize the artwork, make it more legible, and reveal the original palette.
- Examination of an 18–19th-century Austrian/German polychrome sculpture of St. Barbara — This beautifully intricate work offers an exciting opportunity to study original 18–19th-century techniques and materials. Whereas most polychrome sculptures from this era have been subject to a number of over-painting campaigns, this one retains much of the original polychromy and gilding — intact and in relatively good condition. The examination will include analyses of samples and cross sections to document the materials used and the layered structure. This information will then be used to devise a suitable treatment approach.
- Treatment of a painting by Québécoise Automatiste artist Marcelle Ferron — Ferron’s painting style involved the gestural application of many discontinuous layers of paint. She was also known to apply additional layers well after a painting was finished if she became dissatisfied with the design. The thickness of the paint layers and their application at different times has led to isolated areas of poor adhesion, fragility, and friability in some of her works. In preparation for treatment of this painting, extensive adhesive testing was done to determine the most suitable product to re-adhere flakes and consolidate friable areas. Analytical testing will also be done to determine the nature of the painting’s surface coating, and what binding media and pigments are present. This information will add to our understanding of Ferron’s working methods and materials, and aid conservation of her work now and in the future.
