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Design for a Masonic Temple, mid-19th century
Gideon Shryock (American, 1802–1880)
Pen and brown and black ink, brown and black wash, and watercolor on wove paper mounted on fabric
Gift of Miss Jean O. Field and Mrs. Isabel Field Brown in memory of their mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Shryock Field 1957.2
ADOPTED
Conservation of this artwork was made possible by a generous contribution from Don Smith through the Adopt-an-Artwork program
Large tears. Yellowed tape. Surface grime. Losses. Wrinkles and cockling. Brittle paper glued onto fabric. These are just some of the condition problems suffered by this elevation drawing by Kentucky architect Gideon Shryock. In her treatment, the conservator will begin by removing the fabric backing with a light application of moisture. She will then humidify the drawing to relax the paper fibers, which will allow her to flatten the sheet. Afterwards, she will fit the pieces of the drawing together, realigning the composition, before mending the tears on the back with Japanese tissue paper. Finally, she will clean the dirty surface using vinyl erasers (which won’t smear or leave residue behind) and perform minor washing. In the end, the appearance will improve significantly.
