Past Projects

A selection of projects Valentine has worked on, from various periods, are given below.

16th Century
9th Baron Cobham, Studio Holbein This late 16^th century painting illustrates a delicate cleaning, authentication and subsequent restoration.

Madonna and Child, Jan Muller This late 16^th century painting illustrates a complicated cleaning and subsequent restoration.

Unknown Man, Hans Eworth This mid 16^th century painting illustrates a complex reconstruction project posing ethical questions.

The Agony of St Francis, El Greco This 16^th century painting illustrates where removal of disfiguring old restoration reveals the true quality of the painting.

17th Century
Skating Scene, Henryk Avercamp This 17^th century painting illustrates a typical Netherlandish winter scene which was cleaned to remove aged varnish. This example shows the subsequent restoration. Pentimenti were revealed when the varnish was removed.

Religious subject, Anthony van Dyck This painting illustrates careful consolidation of flaking paint.

18th Century
Cupid, Sir Joshua Reynolds In this example, the cleaning was complex and illustrates the use of cross-sections in the decision-making process.

Victorian/19th Century
Portrait of CH Parker, Lowes Cato Dickinson This painting provides an excellent example of how a conservator can repair even extremely badly torn canvases.

Modern/20th Century
Paint Tubes, Arman, or Pierre Fernandez Armand This illustrates the use of materials not normally found on easel paintings.

Paintings by LS Lowry LS Lowry’s paintings exemplify the ageing of relatively modern paintings, which are beginning to deteriorate. They are often covered in a layer of surface deposit which leaves them looking dirty and they are also beginning to crack or delaminate.

Contemporary
Twigs on Snow, Abbas Kiarostami Whilst not a painting, this giclee photographic print was carefully restored to remove evidence of water damage.

Polychrome Sculpture
Terracotta bust of Henri III, Germain Pillon Illustrated here is the removal of a significant dirt layer as well as previous restoration and subsequent restoration.

Large in situ projects
Panorama of the Battle of Trafalgar, William Lionel Wyllie Valentine also undertakes large in situ projects when the works are too large or unstable to be removed from where they are displayed. In this example a curved panorama was removed from the National Museum Royal Navy Portsmouth with the help of a structural engineer. The painting measured 12ft x 42ft (3.6m x 12.8m).