Art Conservation

The expertise of MCS includes watercolours, drawings (modern and old master in a variety of media), pastels, maps, prints and historic photographs.

Examples of paper restoration treatments include:

removal of destructive acidic board and damaging adhesives (traditional or modern)
treatment of general discolouration and surface dirt, disfiguring spots, stains and foxing
deacidification to halt acidic decay
removal of 'Sellotape', masking tape and associated stains
repairs, linings and infills to missing areas
retouching or toning to minimise the visual impact of damage
sensitive remounting in high quality, acid-free board
framing and fitting up to the highest museum standards

Examples of treatment to photographs include:

All our work is documented.

Most of our art conservation and restoration work is for museums, galleries and historic houses, usually repeat business. We assess the needs of each artwork and institution and tailor our work accordingly.

Our flexibility helps us to provide a comprehensive service. Examples of non-conservation work include digitisation, arranging hand carved copies of historic frames, copying pages from Charles Darwin's note books onto historic paper for binding as the original notebooks were too light-sensitive for permanent display.

In addition to routine studio work we are accustomed to working for exhibitions and meeting deadlines.