Conservation departments
The painting collections at National Museums Liverpool number around 3800 works, ranging from the 14th to the 21st centuries. Early Italian and Netherlandish and British 19th century schools are particularly well represented. Many world famous masterpieces are also cared for, along with a growing collection of modern and contemporary works.
Looking after such a varied collection involves many different aspects of conservation:
National Museums Liverpool has an active loans-out programme. We also prepare around 40 paintings each year for loan to exhibitions in the UK and abroad. We have to be certain that each painting is robust enough to cope with road, air or sea travel. They are packed in specially designed crates that withstand shock and vibration and sudden changes in temperature or relative humidity. We also condition check and monitor paintings on loan to the many temporary exhibitions across all eight of our venues.
A conservator at work on the Walker's
famous portrait of Henry VIII
As well as practical treatments we carry out research into the techniques and materials of our collections. This often involves liasing with conservators from other institutions. In 2003 we co-curated an exhibition and catalogue about the conservation and technical examination of our portrait of Henry VIII from the Walker Art Gallery.
Have a look at the following web features about painting conservation projects: