Spotlight: Paper Conservation

Bringing Cement Works Number 2 by Eric Ravillious (1934) back to life!

‘It’s amazing to get so hands-on with an artwork — few people ever can! Conservation is part detective work, part mindfulness.’

Find out how we worked with specialist paper conservators, Artworks Conservation Ltd, to preserve this much-loved painting from the city’s collection. Pop along to the Graves Gallery to see it on display!

Under magnification, we discovered a ‘Michel’ mark, popular with nineteenth-century Post-Impressionists like Georges Seurat, often used for chalk and watercolour. We also found that the piece had been attached to an acidic backing board, which we carefully removed layer by layer, plus, a hidden inscription on the back that said that the artwork sold for £12.20 back in the day.

This expert conservation was made possible thanks to generous funding from the The Ampersand Foundation.