Introducing Emilie van der Hoorn and her treatment of a lithograph
Emilie van der Hoorn
Associate Art Conservator
specializes in the preservation and conservation of works on paper. She completed undergraduate degrees in Art History and Fine Art before pursuing a masters degree in Art Conservation at Northumbria University in the UK. After internships at the National Archives in the Netherlands and the Royal BC Museum in Canada she moved to Vancouver and worked with Fraser Spafford-Ricci Art and Archival Conservation for 3 years. On moving to San Francisco in 2015 she was a contract conservator for the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and Zukor Art Conservation.
Her preservation experience ranges from collection surveys to advising on lighting, display, and storage, in addition to framing and creating custom housing solutions.
Emilie is trained in the conservation of paper and books, with extensive experience working with Asian artworks and materials including screens, hanging and hand scrolls, and thangkas. She is a member of the American Institute of Conservation, and the Canadian Conservation Institute.
Conservation Treatment
East Coast Frolics color lithograph designed by Frank Newbound and printed by Chorley & Pickersgill Ltd. Lithographers Leeds.
This colorful lithograph by Frank Newbound was lined with a heavy canvas backing, and had been stored rolled in damp conditions for several years. The artwork was slightly yellowed and discolored overall, and had severe foxing throughout, particularly along the top edge which formed the outside of the roll. When exposed to warm, damp conditions, any impurities in the paper or supporting layers will start to deteriorate and turn brown over time, causing small spots known as foxing.
Canvas backings have traditionally been used to support posters due to the thin, brittle paper they are often printed on. However, canvas and paper move differently with changes in temperature and humidity - canvas tends to shrink and tighten in damp conditions, whereas paper swells and expands. When the two are adhered together this causes tension between the backing and artwork, causing creases, bubbles, and in some cases delamination or tears.
To prevent these problems posters are now lined with a Japanese paper backing. The long, strong fibers of the Japanese paper give sufficient support to the thin poster paper as effectively as a cloth backing and move in the same way as the poster with changes in temperature and humidity.
Treatment included removing from the old lining, and removing residual adhesive from the back of the artwork. This was followed by aqueous treatment to reduce the staining, and increase the overall pH of the paper. Not all the foxing washed out, and due to the sensitivity of the inks to bleaching agents no further stain reduction was possible. However, the foxing no longer detracts from the artwork, nor will it worsen over time. Last, the artwork was lined using a medium weight Japanese paper for support.
Preservation Arts opened their Paper Conservation Department in September 2018. Since then we have successfully treated numerous works on paper and books. These include original works on paper by Viola Frey, László Moholy-Nagy, Bruce Connor and many other artists, as well as sentimental scrapbooks, archived documents, paper screens and family bibles. If you have a fine art collection that includes works on paper and/or books please contact Preservation Arts for any paper conservation projects you may be considering. Call 510-808-7894 or email info@preservation-arts.com.