Edmond de Beaumont: Worcester Art Museum's First Conservator

Edmond de Beaumont at the Worcester Art Museum, 1940's

     In 1936, the Museum formally recognized the importance of conservation by hiring its first conservator, Edmond de Beaumont, who trained at Harvard's Fogg Art Museum. During his forty-year tenure at the Museum, de Beaumont documented much of the collection with X-radiographs, infrared and black-and-white photography. The role of conservation broadened under the leadership of George Stout, a pioneer in the development of conservation in the United States, who directed the Museum from 1947 to 1955.

-www.worcesterart.org

Edmond de Beaumont at the Worcester Art Museum, 1940's

"The Arts of Antioch" by Lawrence Becker and Christine Kondoleon

     "This book features the first comprehensive interdisciplinary study of the mosaics from Antioch, one of the four capitals of the Roman and Early Christian world. A follow-up to the critically acclaimed Antioch: The Lost Ancient City by Christine Kondoleon, this volume includes the latest scholarly and scientific discoveries that grew out of the Antioch exhibition. For the first time, the research of art historians and archaeologists is combined with that of conservators and scientists to shed new light on mosaic and glass workshops. The authors take an in-depth look at the Antioch excavations, which yielded a range of mosaics, sculpture, and glass- and metalwork spanning four centuries. They also explore the development of mosaic conservation in museums since the 1930s. Included are recent findings on mosaic materials, artistic techniques, glassmaking technology, stone quarries, workshops, trade, and patronage. An introduction by the director of the Worcester Art Museum outlines the history of the museum's involvement with the excavations of Antioch, and gives insight into several personalities who were key to the realization of the project. The catalogue section offers detailed information regarding the archaeological context, art historical significance, and technical study of over 150 objects, including the finest group of Roman and Early Byzantine mosaics in North America, and a chronological series of 106 coins from Antioch. With 400 photographs and illustrations, The Arts of Antioch provides a new basis for future scientific and art historical study. The contributors to the book include Paula Artal-Isbrand (Worcester Art Museum), Anna Gonosová (University of California, Irvine), Florent Heintz (Antiquities Department, Sotheby's), Rebecca Molholt (Columbia University), Richard Newman (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston), Antero Tammisto (Institutum Historicum Universitatis Helsingiensis), Cornelius Vermeule III (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston), James A. Welu (Worcester Art Museum), Anne Leinster Windham (Assumption College), and Mark T. Wypyski (Metropolitan Museum of Art)." -amazon.com

Worcester Hunt Mosaic

Antioch Excavations

The Drinking Contest

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Conservation Examination: "Portrait of the Artist's Daughters", 1763. by Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788)

Portrait of the Artist's Daughters, 1763. by Thomas Gainsborough

The Gainsborough being examined by Edmond de Beaumont at WAM, 1940's

Conservation X-Ray Examination: "An Old Woman Praying", 1655. by Nicolaes Maes (1634-1693)

"An Old Woman Praying", 1655. by Nicolaes Maes (1634-1693)

An X-Ray of "An Old Woman Praying", 1655. by Nicolaes Maes (1634-1693) reveals that it was painted over another "Portrait of a Woman". 

X-Ray of "An Old Woman Praying", 1655. by Nicolaes Maes

Conservation X-Ray Examination: "The Astronomer", 1638. by Jusepe de Ribera (1591-1652)

The Astronomer, 1638. by Jusepe de Ribera

X-Ray Examinations of "The Astronomer" (1638) by Jusepe de Ribera reveal that the painting has been heavily patched and repaired, using a portion of another painting (note figure at top edge). 

X-Ray of "The Astronomer" by Jusepe de Ribera

George L. Stout (1897-1978): Worcester Art Museum Director, Art Conservator and Member of "The Monuments Men" During World War II

George L. Stout (1897-1978)

     "George Leslie Stout (1897 – July 1, 1978) was an art conservation specialist who founded the first laboratory in the United States to study art conservation, as well as the first journal on the subject of art conservation. Actor George Clooney played Stout in the 2013 film The Monuments Men. Stout was born on October 5, 1897, in Winterset, Iowa (also the birthplace of actor John Wayne). He served in a US military hospital unit during World War I. After the war, he completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Iowa. Afterwards, he traveled throughout Europe, married and started a family. In 1926, Stout began work on his master’s degree at Harvard University, graduating two years later. He started his museum career in the art conservation department of the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard in 1928. Stout, along with his Harvard chemist John Gettens, pioneered three major areas of art conservation: rudiments, degradation, and reparations. This helped bring art conservation work into the world of modern science. A reservist for some time, Stout was placed on active duty with the US Navy in 1943. Stout soon joined the Twelfth Army Group and the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives section (MFAA), a.k.a. "The Monuments Men". Stout was subsequently director of the Worcester Art Museum, 1947-1954, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 1955-1970. In 1975, he was inducted as an honorary member of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works for his accomplishments." -Wikipedia

"The Monuments Men" (2013) movie trailer

George Stout (left) and "The Monuments Men"