1. Ripped Paintings Damage Evaluation and Repair Proposal-Good info for art collectors and fine art insurance adjusters-Scott M. Haskins Fine Art Conservation LaboratoriesYou may find it interesting to read over an evaluation I wrote for a claim on adamaged painting. Some details and names have been eliminated of course.The other day, I inspected a painting to evaluate the impact damage that occurredwhen movers werent watching a tight turn in a stairwell. The impact shattered thesurface layer of paint, went through underlying layers of paint, causing severcracking, paint loss and a puncture which also caused the fabric (cotton) to frayslightly. This damage is about 10 inches long.Front BacksideThe repair of the damage, with professional art conservation methods and ethics,will require the introduction of penetrating adhesives into the fractured layers inmethods that are compatible with the technique of the painting so as not to effectany visible changes in the appearance of the surrounding areas. This consolidation willbe of paramount importance for long term stability.Once consolidated, the frayed/punctured/ripped artwork will be first consolidated.Then the fibers of the rip will be realigned and rejoined under magnification. Heat,humidity and local pressure will remove the distortion. However, if this type of localtreatment ONLY is performed on the impact damage, this will not be a long termresolution. If a minimal treatment is desired then a slight pucker may have to beacceptable long term. It should also be said that the long term aging of this local areaof impact may suffer continued deterioration of condition even IF the suggestedrepairs look perfect when completed. Patching a painting should NOT be an option aspatching normally leads to a larger distortion/deformation in the future (sometimeshort term) and does not return the artwork to pre-existing or pre-damagedcondition, a condition of performance for resolving fine art policy insurance claims.Page 1 of 1 2. For a short YouTube video on the effectsof patching, click here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOk0vk3w5zsAnother very important condition to consider is the stress the impact has had on thepaint layers. The layers of paint around the point of impact will surely age differentlythan the other surrounding areas thereby resulting in unsightly cracking patterns.There will be a very familiar bulls-eye-cracking pattern (or concentraited cracking)appear and continually get more aggravated and visible with time. Here are twoexamples:Page 1 of 2 3. The only way to avoid this type of development of the cracking patterns is to providethe substantial backing support of a properly designed lining. This overall backingprocess would provide the rigidity to inhibit the development of the otherwiseinevitable cracking. The stretcher bars are very poor quality for this size of painting, especially if lined. The stretcher bars do not expand and are too thin with inadequate cross bar support for a painting this size and with this much paint. We can try and make due with the original stretcher bars but the painting may not be optimally taut or the stretcher bars may warp when the lined painting is remounted.On the reverse of the painting is the inscription bythe artist which is very important to remain visible if a lining is applied. We normallytrace/transfer these types of inscriptions, in the exact calligraphy of the artist andtranscribe it in the same location as the original on the reverse of the new lining.The proposed cost of the local repair would be 1/3 the price of the overall lining. Onedetail contributing to this factor is that the painting is oversized (over 48 in bothdirections) and the lining materials must be modified and be adapted.If the lining art conservation treatment is chosen, the expected result would be arepair that will be not visible to the naked eye and will be stable for long term.Scott M. Haskins, Art ConservatorPres. FACL, Inc.805 564 3438faclartdoc@gmail.comPage 1 of 3