Peeble Island Resource Center

Peebles Island's Sign

Who would know that many of the furniture and paintings of the museums that we visited have been treated by an entire company?  In other words, many of the museums’ furniture and paintings have been through complex processes before being exposed in the museums. Peebles Island Resource Center is where old artifacts are stabilized or restored before being exposed to the public.

I see the relationship between Peebles Island Resource Center and museums as the relationship between an actress and her styler. Just like an styler takes care of an actress’s hair, Peebles Island Resource Center takes care of the quality  of old artifacts. Since the actresses are always expected to look fabulous, a styler always look for the best look for the actress. In some cases, a styler might only stabilized an actress’ hair by spraying it. In addition, the styler might also give the actress a new look by giving her a haircut. In almost the same way, Peebles Island Resource Center makes sure that the old historical artifacts look as stable or as new as possible for the public. Like a styler, this resource center makes sure that old artifacts look good for the public.
A process called restoration is used in order to make an old artifact look new.  The resource center in Peebles Island uses this method when museums ask for it. In many cases however, museums ask for another process called conversation which only make the artifacts stable. Through this method, the artifacts do not exactly look new but instead they are stabilized in a way that they can survive longer.

The picture above shows an example of both, restoration and conservation. The left painting was stabilized after having a big scratch in the left corner. The Conservationists worked on this for a large period of time. They used a technique that required dental floss. Through  this technique the two sides of the hole were pulled together. Even though the dental floss technique helped, there was still a big gap left. To fill this gap, the conservationists spent approximately 100 hours under a microscope threading every little micro fibril in order to close the gap. After that, the painting looked like it was previously. It does not look new but it looks stable which is what conservation is all about.

The painting on the right is a copy of the original one. This painting is not only a copy, but it is also a restored version of the original one. As compared with the one on the left, the painting on the right has more vivid colors. The woman’s face looks brighter as also does the red color in the background.  Clearly the original painting was not only copied but its colors were also restored.

Frames are also subjects of restoration. As the picture above shows, the frame on the table is being treated by one of the workers at Peebles Island Resource Center. She is making that frame look like new by attaching gold leaves to the spots that are deteriorating and becoming yellowish due to chemical reactions. The gold leaves they use are very expensive. However, they use them in a very efficient way. A package of gold leaves is approximately $800 and covers four frames.

Wooden Furniture

Material for Wooden Artifacts' Restoration

Wooden furniture also go through complex process in order to look new. A jelly substance is spread along the wooden furniture. This jelly substance makes the dirt on the furniture easier to remove. After the jelly is removed, the furniture is softly polish in order to remove any residual of dirt. After that, the furniture is then painted to its original color. And buala the wooden furniture looks new!

Church's Painting

 Museums collect and conserve old artifacts through restoration and conservation. In Frederic Church’s home, for instance, many of his paintings and furniture were restored or conserved by Peebles Island Resource Center. I was very surprised to see how old artifacts like olana’s were in such good condition. I have been able to see how some of the furniture that my mother bought when I was a little kid are deteriorating already. The picture above shows a Church's painting which will go through restoration very soon. The painting has a hole on the left which nobody knows with what it should fill out.  It was very interesting to know how old artifacts such as the one in Thomas cole’s house and Johnson Hall are kept in such a good condition for so long. Now when we go to a another museum I will not only see the history behind the exhibits but I will also see the hard work that many conservationists put in them, making the exhibits available to the public.Every old artifact that is conserved in a museum has a history. This is why conservatioists put so much effort into restoring or stabilizing them. This is the same case as the Hudson River. Probably, the Hudson River has more history than anything else. For instance, Henry Hudson came in the Half Moon and disembarked in the Hudson River where many of battles between the Iroquois and the Europeans took place. Later on, the Hudson River also plays a big role during the industrial revolution. During that time, the Hudson served as a form of transportation between north and south of New York. Just like the conservationists  in museums are trying to save old artifacts due to their historical value, the Hudson River must also be taken care of due to its historical and natural value.