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| Charleston’s collection was not designed to last forever. Its fragile painted surfaces, pictures, books, furniture and ephemera are constantly (albeit minutely) under attack from exposure to light, pests, pollutants, changes in relative humidity and the risk of accidental damage. ‘Charleston Regained’ improved preventive conservation in the house by installing a new environmental management system. Pieces that had become too fragile for continuous display, such as the canvas work rug in Duncan Grant’s Bedroom, the fire board painted on asbestos by Vanessa Bell in Clive Bell’s Study, and Quentin Bell’s ‘Levitating Lady’ by the side of the pond were replaced by facsimiles. The originals have been conserved and put in store. ‘Charleston Regained’ also brought in the Trust’s team of specialist conservators to carry out remedial conservation work, to correct or stabilise existing areas of damage. Painted surfaces prone to lift or flake were consolidated. A team of dedicated volunteers was trained in book conservation. Textiles were painstakingly netted and repaired and the wear and tear of thousands of visitors to fabrics, wallpapers, and floors was skilfully erased. |
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Picture captions from left to right:
Main picture - A conservator consolidates the paint on a chair decorated by Duncan Grant.
2. Matching wool samples for a facsimile of a rug designed by Duncan Grant.
3. Matching wool samples for a facsimile of a rug designed by Duncan Grant.
4. Examining a fire screen painted by Vanessa Bell onto an asbestos sheet.
5. A facsimile fire screen being made to replace the original asbestos board painted by Vanessa Bell.
6. Matching facsimile colours against the original Vanessa Bell fire screen.
7. Removing the Levitating Lady to allow a facsimile to be made.
8. Removing the Levitating Lady to allow a facsimile to be made.
9. Replacing coloured pigment lost due to damp.
10. Consolidating the paint on a chair decorated by Duncan Grant.
11. Taking down curtains from the Dining Room for winter storage.
12. Textiles being removed for conservation.
13. An embroidered handkerchief discovered in the back of a chest of drawers in Vanessa Bell’s Bedroom during the removal of the contents of the house.
14. Books removed from Clive Bell’s Study.
15. Book conservation.
16. Book conservation.
17. Book conservation.
18. Conserving the base of the bust of Vanessa Bell by Marcel Gimond in Duncan Grant’s Bedroom.
19. Cleaning the plaster cast of the Benin head in Duncan Grant’s Bedroom.
20. Filling in pigment lost under the Spare Bedroom window due to visitor wear.
21. Replacing paint loss in Vanessa Bell’s Bedroom after the ceiling was re-plastered.
22. Filling holes left by the removal of electric sockets installed in the 1980s.
23. Pigments used by the painted surfaces conservators.
24. Replacing paint loss in Clive Bell’s Study.
25. Levelling and grouting tiles in the ground floor corridor.