This annual one-day symposium is named after its founder, Gerry Hedley, who was a Reader at The Courtauld Institute of Art and a leader of pioneering research in conservation, inspiring generations of students. It is an opportunity for students and interns training in conservation of paintings at The Courtauld Institute of Art, Hamilton Kerr Institute (Cambridge) and University of Northumbria to present their work to other trainees and conservation professionals.
Speakers will present on a range of topics featuring individual treatments, technical study and scientific analysis. Presentations will feature case studies of artworks from world-class collections with in-depth technical and scientific analysis. The symposium provides the opportunity to explore the conservation challenges posed by both traditional historical materials and modern materials, in paintings from early medieval times to the present day.
| 09.00 – 09.30 | REGISTRATION |
| 09.30 – 09.40 | Welcome and Introduction (by Aviva Burnstock) |
| 09.40 – 10.00 | Alice Woodward (Northumbria University): An investigation into the use of gamboge in pigment mixtures according to selected nineteenth century British watercolour manuals – with particular reference to ‘An Index of Colours and Mixed Tints’ by Theodore Henry Fielding (1781-1851) dated 1830. |
| 10.00 – 10.20 | Molly Hughes-Hallett (The Courtauld Institute of Art ): The Applicability of Micro-RTI as a Tool for the Documentation and Conservation of Modern and Contemporary Paintings. |
| 10.20 – 10.40 | Amiel Clarke (Hamilton Kerr Institute): Technical Study and Reattribution of a 17th-century Bolognese painting. |
| 10.40 – 10.55 | Discussion (15 min) |
| 10.55 – 11.35 | TEA /COFFEE BREAK (provided for all, in Seminar room 1)
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| 11.35 – 11.55 | Annie Cornwell (The Courtauld Institute of Art ): An investigation into methods of cleaning George Stubbs’s wax-containing paintings. |
| 11.55 – 12.15 | Camille Polkownik (Hamilton Kerr Institute): The use of different qualities of lead white for priming and paint layers: survey, preparation and application. |
| 12.15 – 12.30 | Discussion (15 min) |
| 12.30 – 14.00 | LUNCH BREAK (not provided) |
| 14.00 – 14.20 | Diana Jaskierny (The Courtauld Institute of Art ): The Classification and Categorisation of Crack Patterns and Delamination found on panels in the Brown Gallery of Knole House. |
| 14.20 – 14.40 | Michaela Straub (Hamilton Kerr Institute): The Treatment of an Early English Retable. |
| 14.40 – 15.00 | Donatella Banti (The Courtauld Institute of Art): The influence of metal stearates on the water sensitivity of modern oil paints. |
| 15.00 – 15.20 | Martha Swabey (Northumbria University): Investigation and comparison of craquelure in canvas paintings on walls – focusing on the Brighton Pavilion Music room and Manchester Town Hall. |
| 15.20 – 15.35 | Discussion (15 min) |
| 15.35 – 16.00 | TEA /COFFEE BREAK (provided for all, in Seminar room 1) |
| 16.00 – 16.20 | Cerys Fry (The Courtauld Institute of Art): An Investigation into the Materials and Techniques of the Decorative Scheme in the Cartoon Gallery at Knole House, with particular emphasis on the grotesque paintings on panel and their relationship to other elements of the scheme. |
| 16.20 – 16.40 | Sarah Bayliss (Hamilton Kerr Institute): A study of two Tudor portraits and their connection to the ‘peintre anglois’ Nicholas Hilliard. |
| 16.40 – 17.00 | Discussion and closing remarks |
| 17.00 | RECEPTION (Student cafe) |