Art + Artists

Conservation

Art Champions

Artworks for Adoption

<p class="hero-text">Here are the candidates in need of conservation. We have representatives from nearly every area of Mia’s collection.</p>


Conservation Cost $3,900.00

 

Mia has plans to feature this woman’s festival coat in the landmark exhibition, “Textiles of Japan,” opening October 2021, but it requires important conservation work before it can be safely displayed to the public.  

 

Dating to the 1800s and made of fish skin, the coat testifies to the exceptional artistry and technical skill of makers within the Nivkh community, a semi-nomadic, indigenous ethnic group from the Amur River region of eastern Siberia. The Nivkh people harvested materials available to them in the region and turned to the skin of chum salmon or Amur carp to make clothing and shelter. The skin is removed in one piece and then dried, kneaded, and moistened in fish soup until supple. The result is a lightweight material that is also water and wind repellent and durable. These women’s festival coats (hukht) show a style reminiscent of neighboring Chinese and Manchu robes. Especially the backs are richly decorated with appliqué and embroidery of abstracted, animalistic designs that represent masks, birds, serpents, and dragons which design is also of Chinese origin.




Few of these coats have survived and this is one of the highlights of the upcoming Dressed by Nature exhibition. But the coat is quite dry and fragile, with several tears in need of repair. Some past conservation work on the coat is beginning to fail, and not visually integrated into the garment. A number of deep creases, where the coat has been folded, require steam treatments to relax. These treatments, in addition to an overall surface cleaning, will do much to restore this unique and important coat to its former glory.  

 

Contact the Department of Japanese and Korean Art at JKA@artsmia.org or (612) 870-3214 to Champion this artwork.

beige colored coat with organic, abstracted applique bird and cow head shaped motifs; blue detailing around collar and cuffs; subtle red details around collar, sleeves, and winding through applique; asymmetrical closure on front

Woman’s fish-skin festival coat (hukht)

Conservation Cost $4,360.00
This important painting comes from a manuscript nicknamed the “Scotch-tape” Bhagavata Purana (Ancient Story of the Blessed One), so called because a previous owner opted to stabilize the folios’ frayed corners with cellophane tape! It is the earliest known illustrated manuscript to chronicle the life story of the beloved Lord Krishna. Here, the artist captures the fervent ardor of the gopis (cowherd wives) as they search for their divine love in a fantastical, moonlit forest. The bold use of color, exaggerated gestures, and bristling costumes mark the crystallization of a pre-Mughal style, which, along with the exploits of Krishna, would become salient features of Indian court painting thereafter.
 
At present, the condition of this historically significant work is unstable. Conservation must be done to consolidate and prevent active flaking of the pigments; replace detrimental paper fills and hinges; repair minor tears; and surface clean the front and back to remove grime and enhance viewing.

Contact the Chinese, South and Southeast Asian Art Department at CSSAA@artsmia.org or (612) 870-3220 to Champion this artwork.
 

Illustration from a Bhagavata Purana Series; divided in two horizontal bands depicting groups of gopis walking through the forest, asking the plants and trees for the whereabouts of Krishna

This painting comes from the first illustrated series of the Bhagavata Purana (Ancient Story of the Blessed One), a text composed in the 800s–1000s ce that chronicles the life story of Lord Krishna. Here, the artist inventively translates verse to image, with two registers of lovesick gopis (cowherd wives) chasing the call of Krishna’s flute in a fantastical moonlit forest. The bold use of color, exaggerated gestures, and bristling costumes marks the crystallization of a pre-Mughal style. Inherited from earlier traditions, this visual language would influence the Indian court painting to follow. 
Recent conservation of this painting was made possible by a generous contribution from Al and Dena Naylor through Mia’s Art Champions program.

Cowherd women seek the God Krishna in the forest

Conservation cost: $5,960

Few visitors to Mia have laid eyes on this tapestry as it has rarely been exhibited in the past.  Before it can return to the galleries, conservators will need to vacuum and line it, and add a Velcro attachment to the back so it can be safely fastened to a hanging mechanism.  

Contact the Decorative Arts, Sculpture, and Textiles Department at DATS@artsmia.org or (612) 870-3101 to Champion this artwork.

fragment of a larger tapestry, much wider and probably slightly higher; warp undyed wool, 6-8 ends per cm.; weft dyed wool and silk, 20-40 ends per cm.

This is a fragment of a larger tapestry and therefore we can only speculate from the elaborate clothing and the numerous people depicted that this was a courtly gathering. It is possible that it represented an international meeting, as the scimitar-like sword worn by the missing figure at the left may identify an Eastern visitor to a Western court.

Courtly Personages in a Landscape

Conservation Cost $4,045

This fantastic crazy quilt is unique in its inclusion of commemorative ribbons, some of which have to do with medical and pharmaceutical professional organizations—unusual components of women’s hand-made creations. It was common in the late 1800s to treat silk fabrics with metallic salts, chemicals that added weight and sheen to the fabric and produced a pleasing rustling sound when worn as a dress. The downside of these chemicals, however, is that over the long term they are abrasive to the silk fibers they were meant to “improve,” often resulting in breakage or “shattering.” Conservation is needed to repair and support many of the shattered silk patches throughout this remarkable handmade creation. Treatments will take the form of adhesive underpatches and fine netting overlays. Once conservation is complete, this new acquisition will be able to go on public display for the first time ever. 

Contact the Decorative Arts, Sculpture, and Textiles Department at DATS@artsmia.org or (612) 870-3101 to Champion this artwork.

dark burgundy velvet border; square blocks each pieced with irregular fabric scraps sewn together with embroidery floss in various stitch types and colors; various fabrics including embroidered and appliqued parasols, fans, teapot, flowers, top hat, butterfly, large blue leaf; at least four fragments of printed ribbons from various events including Grand Masonic Reunion, 1876, and Wisconsin Pharmaceutical Association, 1862; backing of burgundy fabric with inherent pleating

Among the vibrant patches in this crazy quilt are three printed souvenir ribbons: two relate to Freemasons (men-only secret societies that act as social groups), and the third commemorates the 1882 Wisconsin Pharmaceutical Association meeting. Souvenir ribbons in similar crazy quilts typically reference women’s charitable organizations or Civil War veterans’ reunions. The emphasis on exclusively male social and professional societies seen here is rare in the distinctly feminine, domestic craft of quilting.

The donors of this quilt trace its ownership through their grandfather, Frank H. Allen. Originally from Wisconsin, Allen later lived in Staples, Minnesota, and was a doctor. Allen would have been a child when the quilt was made, and it is possible his father also worked in the medical field.  


Conservation of this artwork was made possible by Barbara and Paul Mikelson, in memory of Emma Kloos Hitzemann, through Mia's Art Champions program.

Crazy quilt

Conservation cost: $5,090

This decorative, sawed-wood screen normally graces the side of the chimney at Mia's Purcell-Cutts House. The elements and, more recently, aggressive squirrels have sadly damaged the screen, which is now in need of conservation to stabilize it and repair the squirrel-chewed areas. MACC's object conservators will clean the piece overall, consolidate wood losses, reattach collected fragments where possible, reconstruct lost elements, and tone fills to match the original creosote-stained cypress. 

Contact the Decorative Arts, Sculpture, and Textiles Department at DATS@artsmia.org or (612) 870-3101 to Champion this artwork.

Architect William Purcell wanted a house that would support a modern way of life for his family. He and Elmslie followed the approach of progressive Chicago architect Louis Sullivan, who believed the design of a building should reflect the structure’s place and time in history, as well as be compatible to its site and natural surroundings. The architects employed Sullivan’s “system of ornament,” a decorative philosophy based on natural forms. One of the most significant examples of the Prairie School style in the country, the house combines Purcell’s talent for innovative residential planning with Elmslie’s ingenious and exacting decorative detail. Their interpretation of Sullivan’s principles included such Prairie School elements as a nearly flat roof, an open interior plan, earthen colors, and more than eighty art-glass windows. Combining these elements with custom-designed stencils, furniture, and artworks, they produced an architectural gem that suited the family’s contemporary needs.

Purcell-Cutts house

Conservation cost: $5,051

American modernist artist Peggy Bacon (1895–1987) was widely acclaimed for her figurative drawing skills and her uncanny ability to illuminate essential traits of temperament and character through exaggeration and caricature. Fully developed pastel drawings by Bacon are relatively rare, so it is important to restore those that exist. The proposed treatment for this drawing includes releasing it from its poor quality window mat sandwich (the work is double-sided with an unfinished “false start” sketch on the back of the sheet) and chemically treating various spots of mold scattered across the drawing surface. The drawing will then be re-hinged and reframed to archival standards using non-glare acrylic glazing.

Contact the Prints and Drawings Department at printstudy@artsmia.org or (612) 870-3113 to Champion this artwork.

A leading caricaturist of her day, Peggy Bacon was a perceptive observer of the human condition. Here, a middle-age woman adds the “finishing touches” of her daily toilette as she rides the New York subway, oblivious to her public surroundings. Bacon’s fictional portrayal addresses vanity or inflated pride, one of the seven deadly sins in Christian teachings.

Finishing Touches

Conservation cost: $3,951

Born and trained in Minnesota, Gerome Kamrowski (1914–2004) moved to New York City in 1938 to pursue a career as a painter. There he joined a group of American modernist artists who were strongly influenced by Surrealism, the avant-garde cultural movement centered in Paris. Like their European counterparts, these young American artists explored a range of subjects and techniques—such as dream analysis, free association, and chance—that allowed the creative unconscious to express itself. This and anther drawing remained in possession of the artist until Mia acquired them in 1988. Over that 40-year period, the water-based media (gouache and ink) and substrate (paper) degraded, probably because of fluctuations in temperature and humidity. In particular, each drawing has experienced surface flaking of the gouache (opaque watercolor) medium. Edge tears (some with previous non-archival repairs) and minor cockling of the substrate are also present in both drawings. Treatment would include consolidating the unstable medium, in-painting of medium losses, and the archival repair of tears. Consolidation and in-painting are exacting and time-consuming processes that require working under strong magnification with great deliberation. Once restored, both drawings will be available for display. 

Contact the Prints and Drawings Department at printstudy@artsmia.org or (612) 870-3113 to Champion this artwork.

House of Cards

Conservation cost: $2,359

Born and trained in Minnesota, Gerome Kamrowski (1914–2004) moved to New York City in 1938 to pursue a career as a painter. There he joined a group of American modernist artists who were strongly influenced by Surrealism, the avant-garde cultural movement centered in Paris. Like their European counterparts, these young American artists explored a range of subjects and techniques—such as dream analysis, free association, and chance—that allowed the creative unconscious to express itself. This and anther drawing remained in possession of the artist until Mia acquired them in 1988. Over that 40-year period, the water-based media (gouache and ink) and substrate (paper) degraded, probably because of fluctuations in temperature and humidity. In particular, each drawing has experienced surface flaking of the gouache (opaque watercolor) medium. Edge tears (some with previous non-archival repairs) and minor cockling of the substrate are also present in both drawings. Treatment would include consolidating the unstable medium, in-painting of medium losses, and the archival repair of tears. Consolidation and in-painting are exacting and time-consuming processes that require working under strong magnification with great deliberation. Once restored, both drawings will be available for display. 

Contact the Prints and Drawings Department at printstudy@artsmia.org or (612) 870-3113 to Champion this artwork.

abstract composition of biomorphic forms in black, red-brown, and white

Aural

Conservation cost: $4,945

During one of Mia’s earliest efforts to build a significant collection of drawings, this spare modernist portrait came to the museum. The artist is Ferdinand Hodler, one of Switzerland’s foremost creative figures of the late 1800s and early 1900s. The sitter is Willy Russ, a leader of the Suchard chocolate company.

When the museum bought this drawing in 1925, the care of paper-based works of art was less well understood and less rigorously practiced than today’s standards. This drawing was pasted down on a sheet of acidic cardboard that is becoming increasingly brittle, endangering the precious drawing.

The proposed conservation treatment involves two main steps. First the brittle backing board needs to be removed and the associated adhesives reduced. Once the drawing is free, the ability of the drawing to withstand washing can be tested. If it can tolerate exposure to water, the drawing will be washed and rinsed to remove impurities and discoloration, giving the portrait a much fresher appearance—in line with the clean feel of the drawn lines.

Contact the Prints and Drawings Department at printstudy@artsmia.org or (612) 870-3113 to Champion this artwork.

Portrait of the Collector Willy Russ-Young

Conservation cost: $3,495

The multi-talented Jean Cocteau was among the most vital French artists of the 1900s. As a painter, illustrator, stage set designer, film-maker, and librettist, he ran with the likes of Pablo Picasso, Édith Piaf, Joan Miró, Marlene Dietrich, Salvador Dalí, Gertrude Stein, and Coco Chanel—to name a few famous friends.

Unfortunately, Mia’s drawing was at some point glued with rubber cement to a poor quality backing board. Not only do glue residues mar the appearance of the drawing, the backing board risks the long-term stability of the paper. The conservation proposal calls for releasing the drawing from the backing followed by reduction of the rubber cement residues. The result should be improved appearance and stability of Cocteau’s drawing. 

Contact the Prints and Drawings Department at printstudy@artsmia.org or (612) 870-3113 to Champion this artwork.

Line drawing of two faces in close proximity; on left

Les Amoureux (The Lovers)

Conservation cost: $6,105

The French Fauvist painter Raoul Dufy produced cheerful, colorful pictures of life in Paris in the first half of the 1900s, often favoring scenes of fashionable women, uniformed officers, and summer holidays at the beach. Given to the museum in 1958, this gouache has never been exhibited due to its fragile state. There is extensive flaking throughout the work and risk of further cracking and losses. The unstable pigment must be carefully consolidated. This is a painstaking, time-consuming process in which the conservator works under magnification to stabilize each crack, using a consolidant to adhere all of the loose gouache to the paper support. The work has been in dark storage for 60 years so the colors are extremely fresh. Once consolidated, the gouache will be stable enough to exhibit once again. 

Contact the Prints and Drawings Department at printstudy@artsmia.org or (612) 870-3113 to Champion this artwork.

The French Fauvist painter Raoul Dufy produced cheerful, colorful paintings and gouaches in the first-half of the twentieth century, often favoring scenes of fashionable women, uniformed officers, and summer holidays at the beach. This drawing was inspired by a work now lost by the 19th-century French artist and journalist Constantin Guys (1805–1892). In the age before photography, the press employed artists to illustrate current events in their publications. This scene represents Prince de Joinville (1818–1900), the third son of King Louis-Philippe I of France who was admiral in the French navy, embarking on an English ship. It may represent the prince's 1843 trip to England, when he traveled with his new wife Princess Francisca of Brazil to meet Queen Victoria. Guys was living in England at this time, working for the "Illustrated London News" and "Punch." 

There is a larger related painting by Dufy, which was formerly in the collection of Gérard Oury. That work features the United Kingdom's standard Union Jack flag, whereas the Minneapolis gouache appears to feature the Queensland Separation Flag, a colony of the British Empire from 1859–1901.
Dufy executed his homage to the lost work almost a century later, in 1934 or 1935. Dufy sought inspiration in the history of art throughout his career, producing works that were not copies but tributes to the artists he admired. There are some four works of different media and size related to Guy’s Prince de Joinville picture.

After Constantin Guys

Conservation cost: $6,105

While the painting is in good condition, the historically important frame that surrounds it requires the assistance of a conservator. This Palladian or "Kent" frame is quintessentially British, with texture created through the use of sand over the whole ground of the frieze, weighty architectural ornament, and swags of foliage.

The frame is unstable due to lifting, cracks, and losses in the gesso, primarily along original joints in the underlying wood and along the edges, with large losses on the sides of the frame. There are some breaks/joints, including the back of the shell carving and a section of the ribbon carving near the lower proper right corner. Accumulated materials including soot have left the frame very dirty. Cleaning, consolidation, and repair of gild and tone losses will blend together the frame's appearance and give it new life for many years to come. 

Contact the Paintings Department at paintings@artsmia.org or (612) 870-3111 to Champion this artwork.

This realistic landscape is actually an architectural fantasy, or capriccio, created by Viviano Codazzi. It includes real ruins in the background, like the half-buried Arch of Septimius Severus and the Palazzo Senatorio in Rome. But the large ruin dominating the left foreground, with its row of Corinthian columns, is pure fiction. The painting was designed to lend a sense of grandeur to these architectural ruins, creating a setting more theatrical than pastoral. To make the scene more believable, Codazzi wanted to add figures, called staffage. But he was untrained in figure painting, so he hired another artist, Michelangelo Cerquozzi, to complete the work.



Conservation of this picture's frame was made possible by a generous contribution from Al and Dena Naylor through the Art Champions program.

View in the Roman Forum

Conservation cost: $5,960

Lingelbach’s painting of Mary Magdalene requires both structural and cosmetic interventions. The tacking margins are too weak to support proper canvas tension and should be reinforced with a strip-lining. Strengthening the margins will also insure that the painting is securely attached to the stretcher and that the canvas draws can be eliminated.

The appearance of the painting is marred by discolored varnish and conspicuous retouching that should be removed or reduced. Small tests indicate that cleaning would have dramatic results. Tests also suggest the multiple campaigns of retouching are more broadly applied than necessary. A more judicious use of inpainting will improve the appearance of the painting significantly.

Contact the Paintings Department at paintings@artsmia.org or (612) 870-3111 to Champion this artwork.

The Magdalen in a Cave

Conservation cost: $4,980

Bruce Onobrakpeya is one of Nigeria's most important living artists: a printmaker, painter, and sculptor. In his twenties, he began to experiment with forms related to Nigerian myths and legends, themes that stayed with him. In November 2017, Mia received a set of six deep etchings on paper from Cathy and LeRoy Draine, who purchased them in Lagos in the early 1970s. These are the first works by Onobrakpeya to enter the collection. Due to the way they have been mounted in the past, however, the prints are unstable and cannot be safely handled or exhibited. MACC's paper conservators will remove the prints from their current housing, reduce adhesive from the prints, and surface clean the works overall. 

Contact the Arts of Africa and the Americas Department at aaa@artsmia.org or (612) 870-3286 to Champion this artwork.

three figures wearing decorated skirts, standing together against greenish background; figure at L stands with hands over head; C figure crosses arms over body, with hands at shoulders; R figure faces the other two

Ekpaem Mue'li Ráme (Green Base)

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<h2>Conservation</h2>
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<h2>Art Champions</h2>
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Artworks for Adoption

Maker: Unknown Nivkh

Unknown Artist, India

Unknown Artist, Belgium

Unknown Artist, United States

Architect: George Grant Elmslie; Architect: William Gray Purcell

Artist: Peggy Bacon

Artist: Gerome Kamrowski

Maker: Gerome Kamrowski

Artist: Ferdinand Hodler

Artist: Jean Cocteau

Artist: Raoul Dufy; Artist: after Constantin Guys

Artist: Viviano Codazzi; Artist: Michelangelo Cerquozzi

Artist: Johannes Lingelbach

Artist: Bruce Onobrakpeya