Recommended Art  & Paper Conservation Services

While we would love to tackle advanced framing issues, such as cleaning old, yellowed paintings or fixing tears in the canvas, we know that there are other artisans, with whom we have partnered, whose skill sets and talents are exactly what you need. Most frame shops are not staffed with skilled, experienced art conservators. That is way beyond their wheel house. We know this to be true, having attempted repairs and cleaning in the past, only to find that we were in over our heads and did not have the requisite experience to transform the old into the new. 

As a result, we have learned to whom we should turn when we have a conservation issue, such as:
--Oil painting requiring cleaning (yellowed varnish, smoke & grime coated paint or varnish layer)
--Paint on canvas that is torn and requires repair
--Oil painting where the paint is flaking off and needs to be re-lined and retouched.
--Adding fresh canvas to the edge of the painting for stretching purposes after re-lining.
--Posters and printed collectibles in need of cleaning, fixing of torn areas and canvas backing
--Photos, to be framed, that are in poor condition and in urgent need of retouching and reprinting

Here is a partial list of conservators that have an excellent reputation and with whom we are familiar:

Chicago Poster Restoration
Located on the 13th floor in the Maller's building (5 S. Wabash) in the Chicago Loop, we turn to them all the time for poster and paper conservation.  Owner Vince Newkirk is very experienced and has a busy paper conservation practice. The bulk of their work consists of canvas backing vintage posters and doing conservation work to clean and restore them. Fixing tears in the paper, removing old tape and tape residue, bleaching them to remove grime and yellowing or replacing missing pieces and retouching those patches, are all in a day's work. 

Contact them at:  Phone: 312-456-1899      Email:  info@posterrestore.com  Website:  https://www.posterrestore.com

Tremain Art
Originally owned by Martin and Cipora Katz, in a storefront on Central Street, Evanston (Illinois), the business is now owned and operated by their son-in-law, Stephen Citron and his wife, Simona. The business moved a few years ago to 838 Custer Avenue in north/central Evanston across from the Main Street Metra Commuter Train station (near Main and Custer). We have known their family for many years and they are lovely people. Stephen trained under Martin and others and is very experienced in painting conservation. Stephen does ornamental frame repair as well. He will make a casting of related ornaments on the frame and use them to duplicate missing ornaments which have broken off. He also does leafing and gilding to finish the replaced ornament. They have done work for us or we have referred framing clients to them for that if the client wishes to work directly with the conservator. 

Contact them at:  Phone: 847-866-9678      Email:  tremainart@gmail.com      Website:  https://www.tremainart.com

Restoration Division
Based in Rogers Park (north end of Chicago along the lake), Restoration Division is a conservator that works on a wide array of objects, such as:
Paintings (traditional, modern, contemporary), murals & icons, textiles, artworks on paper, Asian screens & scrolls, documents and photographs, sculpture & objects, antique frames. They offer complimentary examinations of the items needing work and treatment proposals.

Contact them at:  Phone: 773-754-6080      Email: "Mary Kirk"<mary@restorationdivision.com>    Website:  https://www.restorationdivision.com 

Baumgartner Restoration
For many years, Julian Baumgartner worked with his dad in their studio overlooking Grant Park on Michigan Avenue, doing fine art restoration. Eventually, Julian moved the studio to his own building in Edison Park, where he established a very fine restoration facility. We have followed his conservation exploits for several years on his YouTube channel and have marveled at his expertise in restoration, tool building and art history. He is, very clearly, expertly skilled and highly qualified. Most of what we have seen him work on is oil paintings on canvas or board. He works at a Museum Grade conservation level.

Contact him at: Phone: 312-939-7630    Email: info@bfar.com        Website:  https://baumgartnerfineartrestoration.com

The Chicago Conservation Center
We had an occasion to do some work for Barry Baumann many years ago. He was the founder of The Chicago Conservation Center. While Barry is no longer with us, his protege, Heather Becker, now owns and operates this enterprise. The CCC is the largest conservation business of its kind in Chicago (or, for that matter, nearly anywhere). They have many departments that specialize in such art objects as Oil Paintings, Works of Art on Paper, Sculpture, Antique Furnishings and other categories. She employs a small army of specialists and technicians to restore nearly anything that comes their way. The CCC works with individuals, corporations and institutions like museums and universities. We receive emails from the CCC that document projects they are working on, usually in video format. They are, clearly, very highly qualified to work on just about any objet d'art.

Contact them at:  Phone: 312-944-5401     To contact them via email, go to the contact page on their website:  http://www.theconservationcenter.com

C&L Printing Co.
We have worked with Mike Chan of C&L Printing for a number of years. C&L does all of our printing projects and they do a great job. Mike is a whiz when it comes to photo retouching and restoration. He does a great job reprinting restored images. He can take a damaged photograph, scan it, retouch it and fill in missing areas, tone it and output it on a variety of print papers. He is very timely and prompt and his pricing is competitive. Located on the 2nd floor of 228 S. Wabash, C&L is just up the street from our shop. If you wish to visit them, contact Mike, first, for an appointment.

Contact them at:  Phone: 312-235-1168     Email:  "Mike Chan"<orders@candlprinting.com >     Website: https://www.candlprinting.com

While we recommend all of the aforementioned conservators and artisans, based upon past experience, we assume no liability for any work that they may do for you. However, once they have repaired or restored the items in question, we are happy to assume the liability inherent in putting the art back into its original frame and preparing it for hanging once again. If you bring us unframed items to be restored, first, we will accept the responsibility of transporting your art to the conservator to be worked upon. Usually, we will get an estimate of the time it will take to do the work and the cost of that remediation. We will, then, contact you to advise you about the time and cost for the conservator's work and get your approval before moving forward. Just to be up front:  we will add a markup to their estimate to cover the cost of our time and the handling of your artwork for restoration, whether we frame it or not.

Once the work is completed and returned to us, we will consult with you to determine what you would like us to do as regards framing services. Sometimes it involves simply re-fitting the art in its original frame. Other times, it requires a new frame or framing components, such as glass or matting.

If you would like to discuss this with us further, feel free to stop in with the items to be worked upon for a preliminary assessment in a free, no-obligation consultation by business owner Brian D. Flax, CPF or senior manager Dana L. Fisher, MCPF. We really cannot do that over the phone, as we need to see the actual art and its condition. If you would like to make an appointment with either person, feel free to reach out to us at 312-431-9588 to set up a mutually convenient time to review the item in need of restoration.