Restoration of early Italian paintings at Yale to be discussed at Fairfield University | Press Releases

Yale University's Conservator of Paintings, Patricia Sherwin Garland, will speak on the restoration of Yale's Early Italian Paintings Collection on Friday, March 3, at 3 p.m. in Fairfield University's School of Nursing auditorium.

The collection, now numbering more than 200 paintings, was acquired by Yale in 1871 and represents the earliest collection of its kind in the United States. An attempt to repair the collection took place in the 1950s and '60s which sought to remove all vestiges of earlier restorations in an effort to return them to their "authentic state." Although well intentioned, the process used at the time resulted in serious damage to many of the paintings.

In 1998, the conservation departments at Yale and the J. Paul Getty Museum collaborated on the task of properly restoring the collection, using new techniques garnered by consulting with experts at both museums and art historians specializing in Early Renaissance paintings. "The intent is not to erase all changes caused by time, but rather to preserve and revive the visual coherence of each painting," says Ms. Garland.

Ms. Garland, a graduate of Connecticut College, is a member of both the American and International Institutes for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works. In addition to working at Yale, she counts among her clients: the Josef Albers Foundation, The Sol LeWitt Collection, Christie's Auction House, the Wadsworth Atheneum, Trinity College, the New Britain Museum of American Art, the New Haven Preservation Trust and Choate-Rosemary Hall.

The lecture, sponsored by the Humanities Institute, is free and open to the public. For more information call Melissa McArdle at (203) 254-4000, ext. 2459.