Project Summary:

This work came to us in October of 2025 after the owner requested to remove the piece from its original sheetrock support and line it onto a new archival support. This pastoral scene is a replica of Francois Boucher’s 1737 French rococo painting, Charms of Country Life executed in oil on canvas adhered to sheetrock cut from the wall of the home where it was originally painted. The mural was attributed to muralist Bessie Peirce Heller, and was likely painted shortly after the home was built which was in 1930 according to Volume XLV Number 33 and 42 of the Builders’ Guide in Philadelphia. After 80+ years of use in the original house, the painting had faced years of wear and tear. We aimed to remove the grime, repair the tears, de-line and reline the painting onto a new and more stable canvas support, and reframe the painting to retain its historical shape.

We removed the wooden frame and dry cleaned the front of the painting. The paint surface was cleaned with an aqueous solution using the sheet rock as extra support as this painting was quite grimy. We then faced the painting with Japanese tissue paper and slowly de-lined the canvas by rolling it onto a wide Sono-tube from the sheetrock support. The residual adhesive and paper were carefully removed using a scalpel. Under a microscope, the tears were mended on the verso with a reversible adhesive and cellulose powder. The facing was removed and both the verso of the painting and the lining fabric were prepped for the hot table and then lined. After lining, the painting was re-stretched onto its new custom support, varnished, and inpainted.