Featured Damaged Painting...what to do

Went to pick up some artwork from an online auction purchase. Got there and there was a few pieces leaning against the wall and I was basically the last one picking stuff up. I asked if they were getting tossed (all had some apparent damage) and they said yes and that I could have it all. I posted another one of those paintings a while ago. This one has been sitting in my clear view for at least half a year because it’s kind of hard to stash away with the delicate frame. In that time I’ve fallen for it. Not sure if it’s worth getting fully restored as it sits. Obviously that’s one large tear. I was thinking of possibly getting it clipped just to the right of the giant tear and having some matting cover up the cut in a reframe. Interestingly I just sold a guy a table who told me he loves frames and used to own a frame shop. He told me he’d be interested in buying any good Victorian era frames I find. Was considering proposing a trade with him. He removes and reframes this for me in a frame I supply and he keeps the frame this is in. Not sure if that’s fair or not but that’s for him to decide. In addition to wondering if it’s worth restoring I was curious to know if anyone can help ID the artist and origin? With the windmill I was wondering if it was Dutch? Looks Northern European at least I think. I can’t even guess at the name. Maybe someone else has an idea? Anyways figured I’d share and I always like to hear others opinions.

 

I would do the same, cut damaged section and reframe.

 

If I may ask, the damaged section, does it contain all pcs of the painting?

 

We inherited an 1835 ancestor portrait. There was a minor tear and the paint was "cupping" - cracking and curling up. It cost a bit, but we had a professional restorer fix it and you can barely tell where the tear was. Depending on how valuable it is to you and whether you have an established restorer nearby. The woman who did ours was the caretaker of the Winslow Homer murals at Bowdoin College in Maine so we knew she'd do a good job.

 

James.

 

I would restore it myself.
It looks like the torn section is still salvageable.

This is what I would do.
Trim all the ragged edges. Then pull up the torn section and use a piece of linen larger than the torn area as a patch on the back. Glue it in place with some white glue (Elmer's) pressing it as flat as possible. When it dries, touch up any areas that need painted.

It was headed for the trash anyway, so you have nothing to lose. If it doesn't turn out well, you can still crop it and reframe.

 

doesn't look too bad if most of the pieces are there.

 

JMHO. I'd clean the area with the signature with q-tips and saliva and try to find the painter.
at the present state - generic harbor scene, Northern France, Belgium, Netherlands - I wouldn't spend time and money on it.

 

I agree, it looks that way, and the painting looks best with it restored in some way. If you cut the part with the big ship off, the focus of the painting is gone and the people on the quai are staring aimlessly at the water. It is clear that a single rower doesn't deserve that much attention.

I agree with trying to find who painted it first. It is not a masterpiece, but it is very attractive (said the northern girl). If it turns out to be by a known painter, you can evaluate what to do and how much money you are willing to spend on it.
It also needs cleaning. I suspect the sky and water have a beautiful northern look when cleaned.

 

Wait! Stop the presses! I'd find out who the painter was and the value before I did anything else! Only then, depending on the value of the painting... I'd watch "The Repair Shop" on Netflix and watch for a paint restoration to see how they do it PROPERLY and then decide if I could do it myself. If it has a high value; I'd take it to a reputable restorer! AND, last resort, IF the value dictated that it didn't have any particular value... I'd still reframe it in such a manner that allowed to keep the name of the painter with the painting.

By the by: if you haven't watched the Repair Shop; it is fascinating to watch these professionals repair some truly badly damaged items! It is amazing to see what they can do! I'm awed! I wish they had a stable of such artisan/craftspersons/restorers available stateside!

Cheerio,
Leslie

 

I would repair it myself too but I have some artistic experience - perhaps, it would be better to use rabbit's skin glue and linen threads instead of complete piece of linen so that the repair does not appear as a "shadow" from the front part, but it depends on how even are the edges of the tear.

 

my first step in repairing a jagged tear like this is to try and glue the threads back together. I use cyanoacrylate glue with saran wrap to isolate the gluing point.

 

It does seem to be at least 95% there. Unfortunately it’s not a single tear. On the punched out section there are 3-4 large tears, creases from laying awkwardly that have caused paint loss, and a lot of fringe.

 

Glad you were able to get it fixed so nicely, especially considering it was a family piece. I’d be curious to know the cost if I could be so blunt? If it were money that I could at some point at least theoretically recoup by adding value to the painting and it didn’t break the bank I would consider a real restoration. I’m not sure at this point if the painting would have any significant value even if it were in better shape now. I assume in good shape it would be worth at least $200-$500 to the right person. At that value I can’t see sinking a lot into it. If it turns out someone thinks it may have more value than that it would be a different story. I do really enjoy it but probably not enough to put more into than it’s worth at this point.

 

Thanks, that does clear things up quite a bit. Great job. Unfortunately I’m still unable to come up with anything that makes sense. Obuisi Obuisil?

 

Hmm I’ve never attempted to restore a painting before. That’s not the worst idea. I have absolutely zero, like NO artistic talent whatsoever so once it came to the filling in paint part I’d be the worst person to try it. I fear the very “unclean” tears here would require a lot of touch up. I’ll have to start trying to strike up a friendship with a local artist .

 

Huh qtips and saliva eh? Get them damp with it and gently wipe?

 

I agree whole heartedly that it would look odd without the ship. It would just be better than doing nothing about it at all. I’ve no skill in this area and without knowing the artist (and potential restored value) like you and others said I wouldn’t want to sink too much into it. I also agree it’s not a masterpiece but it’s quite good and at least worth the discussion.
I fear if I can’t find help on the name here I may not not at all.

 

I would love to find the painter but so far the signature is a total mystery to me. I don’t know any place better than here to start my search! Edit: I did see the trailer for that show, it looks cool. I planned on checking it out sometime but now I’ll make a quicker point of it!

 

oh my, thread by thread yeh?