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Research
Introduction | Conservation | Provenance
Infra-red reflectography of the Master of Frankfurt's Virgin and Child, in process by Mandy Smith,
Conservation Technician, QAG
The publicly accessible exhibition spaces of the Queensland Art Gallery represent only the most visible aspects of the institution. Behind the scenes, a wide range of essential research activities and technical processes is conducted ensuring the successful ongoing maintenance and documentation of the Collection.
Conservation research
Conservation staff are responsible for the care, restoration and preservation of art works in the Gallery's Collection to ensure they can be appreciated by future generations.
A wide range of scientific tools and technologies is used to analyse art works and to determine the best method for restoration or preservation. An interesting case study in restoration is presented in online exhibition 'A Long Life: Restoration of the See Poy portraits'.
Sometimes these analytical processes can also reveal hidden changes beneath the surface of the art work, which are not visible to the human eye — as with the Master of Frankfurt's Virgin and Child.
Queensland Art Gallery conservator
Jacqueline Macnaughtan at work on the
See Poy paintings, 1999
Photograph: Matthew Kassay, QAG
Provenance research
The term provenance refers to the history of ownership of a work of art from the time it was created by the artist. The provenance of an object can help to establish its ‘pedigree’ and to contribute to a better understanding of historical trends in collecting. It can also assist in establishing whether ‘good title’ passed with the object on each occasion that it changed hands and can reveal occasions where the object may have been involved in an historical event.
For example, the Master of Frankfurt’s Virgin and Child was found to have been confiscated from the collection of Oscar Bondy, by Germany’s National Socialist (Nazi) Party in 1939, before being restituted to Bondy’s widow in 1947.
The Courier-Mail newsagent poster dated 1 May 2001,
when the newspaper reported on the Gallery’s research
into the painting’s Nazi history
Reproduced with the permission of The Courier-Mail
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