conservation
Barry Bauman Conservation
After receiving his Bachelor's Degree in 1969 from Beloit College, Barry Bauman attended Graduate School at the University of Chicago. In 1971, he received his Master's Degree in Art History with a specialization in Dutch Baroque painting. One year later he joined the Conservation Department at The Art Institute of Chicago and served the museum for eleven years leaving as the Associate Conservator of Paintings. He has been a visiting conservator with the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In 1982, he was elected a Fellow of the American Institute for Conservation.
The following year Barry Bauman founded the Chicago Conservation Center as a resource facility for the conservation of paintings, works of art on paper, objects, frames, murals and textiles. The Center grew to become the largest private facility in America. Major projects included the conservation of 172 flood-damaged paintings for the Chicago Historical Society and, in a two-million dollar undertaking, the preservation of over 300 WPA and pre-WPA murals for the Chicago Public Schools.
Bauman organized the national symposium, "Grant Writing, Fund Raising and Management Strategy for Conservation Programs." Speakers included representatives from the Institute for Museum Services, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the J. Paul Getty Trust. He has reviewed conservation grants for both the Institute of Museum Services and the Getty Conservation Institute.
Barry Bauman has written articles for The Journal of the American Institute for Conservation and The International Journal of Museum Management . He has been the focus of numerous newspaper, radio and television interviews and his treatment of Theodore Robinson's "View of the Columbian Exposition" was featured on WTTW, Chicago's Public Broadcasting Station. He has also undertaken government-funded General Conservation Surveys for sixty-one museums throughout America.
In January of 2004, Barry Bauman left the private sector to establish America's first national conservation laboratory dedicated to offering complimentary conservation services to museums and non-profit organizations. He lives in River Forest, Illinois.
www.baumanconservation.com
conservation
Russian icons have been used for anagogical purposes for church prayer and personal use. With these understandings, the conservator is often more conservative with respect to their treatment. The fact that they were carried and transported as necessary certainly led to inadvertent damage. But this type of damage becomes part of the character of each piece. The two images below represent just such a discrepancy where one image is preserved to the edges while the other shows more typical damage from constant handling and use.
19th-Century
Russian Icon
23 x 17
17th-Century
Russian Icon
9 x 11
As an artist, the Neapolitan Salvatore Postiglione (1861-1906) would well have understood the hours required for training with only an indefinite possibility of future success. An image of artistic study will always carry an autobiographical touch. The wonderful composition on the left brings the viewer into the scene as if we are musical voyeurs participating in a solemn moment. The awkward unfamiliar hand position is cleverly presented. The right image, "Death of a Saint" has similar abilities to include the viewer. A space has been opened compositionally for just this purpose. All four paintings are owned by the Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, Michigan.
Barry Bauman, "2006 Participating Institutions", http://www.baumanconservation.com/homefs.html
19th-Century
Russian Icon
23 x 17
17th-Century
Russian Icon
9 x 11
As an artist, the Neapolitan Salvatore Postiglione (1861-1906) would well have understood the hours required for training with only an indefinite possibility of future success. An image of artistic study will always carry an autobiographical touch. The wonderful composition on the left brings the viewer into the scene as if we are musical voyeurs participating in a solemn moment. The awkward unfamiliar hand position is cleverly presented. The right image, "Death of a Saint" has similar abilities to include the viewer. A space has been opened compositionally for just this purpose. All four paintings are owned by the Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, Michigan.
Barry Bauman, "2006 Participating Institutions", http://www.baumanconservation.com/homefs.html
Anonymous
Death of a Saint
9 x 11
Death of a Saint
9 x 11
Salvatore Postiglione
Girl With a Violin
36 x 44
Girl With a Violin
36 x 44
