Vanessa’s Hat, 1956
Duncan Grant (British, 1885-1978)
Oil on canvas mounted on Masonite
Bequest of Robert K. Smith  2008.8.7  

How much will it cost?  $3,200 

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Duncan Grant’s portrait of Vanessa Bell’s stylish black hat (featuring a self-portrait in the mirror) requires both structural and cosmetic interventions. The tacking margins have weakened over the years to support proper canvas tension, and these should be reinforced along the edges of the canvas with strip lining. Strengthening these edges will also ensure that the painting is securely attached to the stretcher bars and that the canvas draws and distortions will be eliminated. Currently, the canvas is cockling and becoming separated from the stretcher at the lower left corner, which is causing some paint losses on the raised areas of the wrinkled canvas. This is obviously not great news, but it can be fixed.  

Color saturation is extremely poor, due to the discolored varnish layer. This renders the scene with an overall sense of flatness and reduces any sense of depth in space. A layer of dirt lays underneath the varnish, and this too will be removed from the paint surface. An entirely improved sense of space, a brighter color palette, and a significantly improved appearance is the result.