Accidents happen surprisingly easily. A painting can be knocked from a wall, damaged during a house move, caught on the corner of a piece of furniture or accidentally struck by another object.
The result can be alarming: a torn or punctured canvas, cracked or flaking paint, a dent, split wooden panel or damage to the stretcher.
The good news is that accidental damage to a painting can often be repaired very successfully.
I am Dr Laura Bolick, a picture conservator based in North London. I regularly repair paintings that have suffered accidental damage, from relatively small tears and punctures to more complicated structural problems.
If your painting has been damaged, you can send me a few photographs and I can give you an initial idea of what may be involved in repairing it.
Call 0781 491 4869 or email laura@expertartrestorer.co.uk
What should you do if a painting has been damaged?
The first thing is not to panic and, importantly, don’t try to repair the damage yourself.
If the canvas has torn, avoid pushing the edges back together, applying tape to the front or back, or using household glue. If pieces of paint have become detached, keep anything you can find safely.
For a painting with loose or flaking paint, try to avoid touching or cleaning the affected area. Further handling can sometimes turn relatively straightforward damage into a more complicated conservation problem.
Once the painting is somewhere safe, take a few photographs showing the whole painting and close-ups of the damaged area. A photograph of the back can also be extremely useful.
You can send these to me for an initial assessment.
Before and after repair of large tears to canvas
Can a torn canvas painting be repaired?
In many cases, yes.
A tear or puncture can look particularly dramatic because the canvas may become distorted around the damaged area. However, it does not necessarily mean that the painting is beyond repair.
The appropriate treatment depends on the nature of the tear, the condition of the canvas and the surrounding paint.
Where possible, I favour localised repairs rather than unnecessarily extensive intervention. For some tears, this can involve carefully bringing the original canvas threads back into alignment and repairing the damage thread by thread.
Once the canvas has been stabilised, losses in the painted surface can be filled and carefully retouched so that the damage is much less visually distracting.
Have a torn or punctured painting? Send me photographs of the front, back and damaged area and I can advise you on the next step.
What other accidental damage can be repaired?
Not every accident results in a tear.
Paintings brought to my North London studio may have suffered:
- tears, cuts or punctures in the canvas
- dents and distortions
- cracked or lifting paint
- areas of paint loss
- damage caused by falling from a wall
- broken or distorted stretchers
- splits or cracks in wooden panels
- damage sustained during moving, storage or transport
Sometimes several problems occur at once. A painting that has fallen, for example, might appear to have suffered only a small area of visible damage while the impact has also affected the canvas, stretcher or paint layers.
This is why I look at the painting as a whole before recommending treatment.
Before and after: filling and retouching extensive paint loss caused by flaking
Can you give me an idea of the cost from photographs?
Usually, photographs are a very useful starting point.
Please send:
- a photograph of the whole painting
- a close-up of the damage
- a photograph of the back
- the approximate dimensions of the painting
I can then give you an initial indication of the likely treatment and advise whether I need to examine the painting in person before providing a firm quotation.
Painting repair in North London
My conservation studio is in Mill Hill, North London, where I undertake the conservation and restoration of paintings for private owners, collectors and the art trade.
If a painting has just been damaged, or you have an older damaged painting that you have been meaning to have repaired, you are welcome to get in touch.
Send me some photographs and I’ll take a look.
Dr Laura Bolick
Picture Conservator & Art Historian
Call: 0781 491 4869
Email: laura@expertartrestorer.co.uk