Paintings Department:

Painting Department: E.L. Scovell, Kilauea Volcano, 1901, oil on canvas - Stabilization Treatment

Associate Paintings Conservator, Kelsey Fox during treatment

Our client recently acquired an interesting painting from the 19th century Volcano School period. His collection focuses on the artists of the Hawaiian Islands who depict the flora, landscape, and myth of the culture. This painting by Eduardo Lefebvre Scovell, was found on the Big Island and purchased with the hope of conserving this incredibly rare work. When he introduced the project, his expectations were low, as the painting was in poor condition and had suffered extensive water damage and mold growth due to the high humidity environment in Hawaii. All of these conditions had led to significant paint loss, cosmetic issues and tears in the canvas. Our painting department was excited by the challenge and ready for the opportunity to work on such an in depth project.

E.L. Scovell (1864 - 1918) was a British artist, from the Volcano School, a group of non-native artists who painted dramatic nocturnal scenes of Hawaii's erupting volcanoes. Following his education in England, Scovell studied art in Paris. He then traveled extensively including Rome, Florence, India, China, Japan and Brazil and spent eight years in Hawaii where he specialized in volcano scenes. He then went on to live in San Francisco during the 1906 earthquake and fires and finally settled in Los Angeles. Scovell painted Kilauea several times between 1890 and 1908.

The treatment to the painting was quite extensive and started with consolidating the unstable paint layer which was then flattened and placed under weight. After stabilization, the front and back of the painting was cleaned, humidified and flattened to prepare for the tear repairs. Because the painting was water damaged, the paint film had lost its vivid color so a new varnish layer was applied to evenly saturate the dry, blanched surface. From there our painting conservator used reference materials to infill losses, tone and inpainted the surface.