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Discolored Watercolor Painting With an Artists Monogram Would love to find out more about?
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Message
Posted
This piece was bought cheaply and sadly seems a little discolored have tried to clean the glass with no change possibly from a smokey home which has affected the painting ? Seems a nice painting underneath but not as clear anymore the little monogram in the bottom left intrigues me would love to find out more about it if possible age thanks
Posted
It's been re-framed at some point by the look of it; I think it could do with re-framing again, don't like that corrugated white, it's doing the painting no favours.
I could be wrong, but I think the discolouration is probably due to the backing board and possibly the watercolour paper itself not being acid-free: it was a happy thought that tobacco fumes might have discoloured the glass, because a wipe with a damp cloth would have resolved that, but the problem here is more likely to be internal. As an immediate measure, I would take it off its backing, put an acid free mount around it, and frame it afresh - ideally take it to a paper/watercolour painting conservator. That's if it would be easy to separate from the backing, whatever it is - otherwise, leave it to a professional.
Would it be worth restoring - I'm sure it COULD be restored and cleaned; but is the painting worth it? In this condition, it's hard to tell - I suspect it would be a labour of love rather than one of profit, but (while I've no idea where it is: Sylvia's acquaintance with the Snowdon range is much more recent than mine) it's an attractive piece whose light is rather hidden - it would be good to give it a new lease of life. I'm afraid I have no idea about the monogram - I don't recognize it as being that of a professional, and I suspect it isn't. But - who knows?
Posted
The cost of cleaning this painting would far exceed its value… conservation work is expensive, the painting doesn’t warrant it!
Yes, take it out of the frame and get it re mounted and framed, acid free board as Robert rightly said.
Quite often, I’ve come across watercolours that have been glued to a backboard… if that’s the case you can’t do anything about changing the back board. This should never be done, I’ve seen it done many times recently on older paintings.
I can do some conservation work, watercolour isn’t easy and it depends on the quality of the paper. I can’t see any ‘foxing’, but that can be removed with some care and knowledge…
The monogram is unreadable so forget about that aspect, it will remain as ‘unknown artist’…
