Douglas harbour
Date made: 1898
Artist: Nicholson, John Miller
Description: Douglas Harbour by John Miller Nicholson. Showing large trading vessels in the busy harbour.
In December 2023 this painting will go on display in our National Art Gallery at the Manx Museum in a section dedicated to explaining how we conserve our artworks. It has some damage to the frame and a label which explains how we might fix such damage:
Chris Weeks, Collections Care and Conservation Manager for Manx National Heritage writes:
"This beautiful little painting is framed in what we call a ‘reproduction frame’. This term refers to frames that are not carved from wood but which are decorated with mouldings made from a hard putty called ‘composition’ or, as here, from plaster of Paris with glue (‘gesso’). This was a cheaper way of making elaborate frames that was introduced in the 19th century. The frame is covered with gold leaf and is the same age as the painting. Bits of gesso are easily broken-off and this has a bad visual impact on the frame (and painting). There are many frames in the art collection damaged in this way.
We can copy similar pieces of decoration by moulding and casting from better-preserved sections of the frame. These are then trimmed and fitted in the gaps before being covered with gold leaf and toned-in to match the rest. It is quite laborious and, depending on the scale of the losses, may need to be undertaken by a conservator off-island.This beautiful little painting is framed in what we call a ‘reproduction frame’. This term refers to frames that are not carved from wood but which are decorated with mouldings made from a hard putty called ‘composition’ or, as here, from plaster of Paris with glue (‘gesso’). This was a cheaper way of making elaborate frames that was introduced in the 19th century. The frame is covered with gold leaf and is the same age as the painting. Bits of gesso are easily broken-off and this has a bad visual impact on the frame (and painting). There are many frames in the art collection damaged in this way.
We can copy similar pieces of decoration by moulding and casting from better-preserved sections of the frame. These are then trimmed and fitted in the gaps before being covered with gold leaf and toned-in to match the rest. It is quite laborious and, depending on the scale of the losses, may need to be undertaken by a conservator off-island."
Measurements: artwork: 22 cm x 14 cm
Materials: oil on canvas
Object name: painting
Collection: Art Collection
ID number: 1954-2501/015
Subject tags : #artgallerydamaged