Sculpture Conservation

We have much experience in the conservation-restoration of sculpture, and great expertise in the conservation of European painted and gilt sculpture dating as early as Medieval times.  Such “polychrome” sculpture typically has delicate surfaces, sensitive to many of the cleaning agents employed in more typical conservation treatments of sculpture.  Their conservation treatment therefore requires the kind of expertise that we offer, and frequently requires an initial phase of analysis of paint or gilt surfaces.  We also provide such analysis of surface decoration.

Our experience in the conservation-restoration of sculpture includes the following:

Wooden, polychrome sculptures (stabilization, repair and cleaning)
"Corpus of Christ" (German, ca. 1150. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco)
"Christ on Calvary" (Flemish, ca. 1500. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco)
"Virgin and Child" (Flemish, ca. 1500. Saint Louis Art Museum)
"The Burial of the Virgin" (Erasmus Grasser, ca. 1500. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco)
"Holy Family" (German, ca. 1520. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco)
Two Angels (Spanish, ca. 1625. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco)
"Saint Nicolas" (Belgian, ca. 1750. Museum of Ancient Art, Namur)
"Saint Michael Slaying the Devil" (German, ca. 1750. Saint Louis Art Museum)
"Reredos Sculptures (Nathaniel Hitch, ca. 1900, Holy Trinity Scottish Episcopal Church in Ayr, Scotland)

Terracotta sculptures (stabilization, repair and cleaning)
"Saint Jerome" (Spanish, ca. 1600. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco) seen at right
"Expulsion from the Garden of Eden" (Filippo Scandellari, 1758. Saint Louis Art Museum)
"Young Girl" (Jean Antoine Houdon, ca. 1780. Private collection)

Christopher Augerson has also cleaned marble sculptures, including Antonello Gagini's "Saint Catherine of Alexandria" (ca. 1520, Saint Louis Art Museum), and repaired and cleaned sculptures made in plaster.

We have great expertise in the conservation of sculpture, including European painted and gilt sculpture.