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Message:: [QUOTE="Mansons2005, post: 272244, member: 121"]Well, then obviously they had NOT been well or properly maintained! So restoration work was required to rejuvenate and preserve these. And as I mentioned, even with regular maintenance, there comes a time when you have to "get down on your knees and give it a good scrub". Case in point: My family had a portrait of an ancestor painter by Winterhalter. It hung over the fireplace in a room that was used regularly for entertaining. It was not only "dusted" regularly, it was taken down and "cleaned and examined" on a schedule of some sort. Eventually it required a thorough cleaning due to fireplace soot, cigarette smoke, etc. A decade later it required the same attention. At that time it was recommended that  we have it glazed (glass inserted), which we did. But that only CHANGED the maintenance, from cleaning to "airing" - when the family went to Long Island for the summer, the glass was removed so the oils could breath, particularly in New York City summer heat. PS The thought of banning fires or smoking in the drawingroom was never even considered, and WHY would you move the portrait of one of your most illustrious ancestors to another, seldom used room??? Lifestyle played a big part in the daily cars of things such as this.[/QUOTE]