NewsPablo Picasso
Why do some Picasso paintings deteriorate faster than others? Researchers have solved the mystery
A three-year research project looked at the materials in four works from the same period to explain their differing conditions
NewsHeritage
Bavarian frescoes are confirmed to be among the oldest in northern Europe
New examinations of John the Baptist wall paintings in Augsburg cathedral date them to more than 1,000 years ago
NewsConservation
Thanks to a £3m gift, the National Trust could finally uncover a secret portrait of Mary Queen of Scots
Conservation boost from a US charity comes after the heritage organisation faced a £200m revenue collapse due to the pandemic
NewsChurches
Pew! Sussex church may scrap plans to remove historic seating
Moves by parishes to replace pews with chairs for “flexibility” anger traditionalists
FeatureObituaries
Remembering Lindy Dufferin, artist and entrepreneur who used her Northern Ireland home as a centre of community and cultural exchange
A student of Duncan Grant and Oskar Kokoschka whose Clandeboye Yoghurt pictures made her the world’s “most famous disposable artist”
NewsRestoration
The potato head of Palencia: defaced Spanish statue latest victim of botched restoration
Conservation professionals have questioned why Spain's heritage is continually handed over to those with no formal training
Newsdiversity
Getty announces internship programme to counter lack of diversity among art conservators
Noting barriers to students of colour, it establishes yearlong training stints with $30,000 grants
NewsConservation & Preservation
Turkish government on collision course with Unesco over turning Hagia Sophia into mosque
President Erdogan’s plans to convert the museum have drawn fire from Greece and the US
NewsRestoration
Furniture restorer disfigures Murillo’s 17th-century Virgin Mary—and charges owner €1,200
Spain’s art conservation community say the country needs to better regulate the industry
NewsConservation
Getty Conservation Institute helps museums rethink stringent guidelines on conservation
New initiative helps institutions move towards a more tailored and sustainable approach to maintaining collection environments
NewsCathedral of Notre Dame
Notre Dame's construction site to reopen next week
A team will enter the Paris cathedral site on Monday to make arrangements for around 50 construction workers to return from early May
NewsConservation
New secrets of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring to be revealed online next week
Mauritshuis museum's detailed technical examination uncovers new findings on the Dutch artist's brushwork, pigments and technique
NewsMuseums & Heritage
V&A’s rare Frank Lloyd Wright interior is spruced up after years in storage
One of the museum’s finest period rooms, the Kaufmann Office is being restored for display in new V&A East collection centre
NewsRestoration
Glasgow School of Art will be back as a 'working art school' but restoration is mired in delays
Almost two years after fire ravaged the Mackintosh building, debate intensifies over future plans for the site
NewsConservation
Important underdrawings in 15th-century nativity triptych revealed in time for Easter
Restoration on the Bellini workshop piece at Venice studio was halted by coronavirus outbreak
Newscoronavirus
More than 40 UK museums and conservators donate personal protective equipment to help NHS fight coronavirus
Conservation departments are sending gloves, masks and Tyvek suits to hospitals and ambulance services
NewsCathedral of Notre Dame
Notre Dame reconstruction halted because of stringent coronavirus measures
Plans to remove the scaffolding around the fire-damaged cathedral have been put on hold
NewsConservation
Both sides now: Tate Britain to show rare two-faced painting by Aubrey Beardsley
British illustrator’s only known paintings—on front and back of the same canvas—will be displayed for the first time in new exhibition
NewsClimate Change
Heritage on the edge: new Google project reveals climate change damage to Unesco sites
Digital visualisations gathered for online exhibit will be a “blueprint” for heritage managers planning climate adaptation in the future
ReviewBook Shorts
Beautiful book captures the colourful restorations of Georgian homes in London
The story of a collection of 18th-century houses in the East End that have been carefully saved after years of neglect
NewsDerek Jarman
Artists rally to save Prospect Cottage, the house of late filmmaker Derek Jarman
Art Fund leads the initiative to raise the £3.5m needed to purchase the Kent cottage
PreviewPablo Picasso
Royal Academy of Arts to show rare Picasso drawings from ground-breaking 1956 film of the artist at work
Most of the works, created with felt tip pen on newsprint, have been lost, but two have been specially restored for London show
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Cultural heritage officials condemn Trump’s threats against Iranian sites
Meanwhile, an impromptu tribute to the country’s cultural heritage broke out on Twitter, as users posted images of their favourite places
NewsConservation
How medical experts helped curators discover the hidden secrets of a Senufo helmet mask
Spectral CT scans enabled the Dallas Museum of Art to identify unknown elements in the West African piece
NewsCathedral of Notre Dame
Notre Dame enters a new and high-risk phase in its restoration
A huge forest of scaffolding, fused by the fire in April, has to be cut away
NewsDiscoveries
Conservator discovers secret scrawls hidden beneath Derek Jarman painting
Pleasures of Italy canvas on show at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin throws light on late activist’s lovers and interests
NewsCathedral of Notre Dame
The French general’s advice to Notre Dame's chief architect: ‘Just shut up!’
A public spat between officials erupted this week in Paris over the reconstruction of the fire-ravaged cathedral and whether its historic spire should be restored as it was or a new spire built in its place
NewsConservation & Preservation
In a conservation triumph, a 15th-century tapestry highlights the age of chivalry
“It’s the most spectacular representation of a tournament of that time,” a Met curator says
NewsConservation
Expert finds lost dress of Queen Elizabeth I in English village church
Rare 16th-century fabric to go on show at Hampton Court Palace after three-year study
ReviewBook Shorts
History of Dubrovnik before, during and after Yugoslav Wars is recorded in photo book
Contrast of city's devastated buildings and monuments and some of their remarkable restorations is heartening
FeatureConservation
The Sistine Chapel's system upgrade: Nam June Paik's immersive video to be recreated for Tate
The late artist’s award-winning Venice Biennale presentation has been painstakingly reconstructed at Tate Modern—clunky old tubes and all
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
If Leonardo’s Vitruvian Man goes on show at the Louvre, we won’t see it again for a decade
Italian conservationists say they may attempt to block the loan of the famous drawing
NewsConservation
Josef Albers's Manhattan returns to its rightful place in the MetLife building
The colossal mural, recently recreated, has returned to its home near Grand Central Station
NewsRestoration
Restorers discover shield fragment is 1,700 years old, making it the oldest German panel painting
Researchers at the Landesmuseum in Halle found fragments of paint on the ancient wooden object
NewsConservation
Isenheim altarpiece restorers invite visitors in
Laser imaging comes to aid of restoration of 16th-century paintings and sculptures
NewsAncient Egypt
Golden touch up: King Tutankhamun's coffin undergoes first ever restoration at new Grand Egyptian Museum
Famous Ancient Egyptian artefact transferred from Luxor tomb to Cairo for delicate conservation work ahead of museum opening
AnalysisCathedral of Notre Dame
New law regarding Notre Dame says restoration must preserve its 'historic, artistic and architectural interest'
But attempts in the senate to ensure it will look as before the fire were dropped from the final version
NewsAttribution
Hidden number discovered in conservation helps reveal painting is from Titian's workshop
Part of the Wellington Collection in London, the picture was originally believed to be by a minor north Italian artist
NewsCathedral of Notre Dame
'Robin Hood' environmental group files lawsuit over lead fumes near Notre Dame
Complaint accuses authorities of failing to protect locals from potential health risks after fire
NewsConservation
A Wall Street lobby restored to its former glory
A vast Art Deco mosaic celebrates the artistry of its overlooked creator
NewsUnesco
In a first, Unesco gives Frank Lloyd Wright buildings World Heritage status
US architect's distinctive designs are among 29 cultural sites recognised for their “outstanding value to humanity”
NewsVenice
Dramatic speech in Baku challenges Unesco’s support for damaging Venice cruise ship decision
The non-governmental organisation Europa Nostra recommends that the World Heritage Committee put the lagoon city on the endangered list
NewsOld Masters
Spot the horse: imaging technology reveals hidden secrets of Dutch Golden Age paintings
New algorithm, developed by scientists at the National Gallery of Art, precisely aligns layered images to reveal compositional differences
NewsModern art
How the artist Robert Rauschenberg got his goat
Swedish conservators allow Monogram to travel to London, New York and San Francisco for a major traveling survey
News
Sydney Opera House roof gets special soundcheck
Getty grant helps to modernise tap-test of city’s tile-clad landmark
News19th century
London version of Manet’s Le déjeuner sur l’herbe predates the bigger picture in Paris
Research supports theory that Courtauld’s painting is preparatory sketch for version in the Musée d'Orsay
NewsConservation
Leonardo Da Vinci’s St John the Baptist back on view at the Louvre after a thorough—but careful—cleaning
The ten-month project faced “major media pressure” because of earlier restorations of the artist’s work at the museum
NewsConservation
Vasari’s Last Supper back on display 50 years after Florence Flood
Panel painting was submerged in polluted water for 12 hours when the Arno burst its banks in 1966
News
50th anniversary of the Florence Flood: Memories from a drowned world
An oral history project on the 1966 disaster captures conservators’ stories of weeping officials and guards unknowingly treading on an Old Master
NewsConservation
Rodin’s working methods revealed as his dancers give up their secrets
Scrutiny of clay figures and plaster casts shows how artist reused limbs and torsos
NewsConservation
Museum crowdfunds to repair damaged Gauguin
News
Institutions across Florence stage exhibitions to mark the 50th anniversary of the Great Flood of 1966
NewsConservation
Renault funds Versailles restoration project
NewsConservation
Child portrait revealed to be work by Goya’s brother-in-law
News
Work starts at château that made Louis XIV jealous
News
How the Townley Venus's thumb was knocked off at the British Museum
One of institution's most important sculptures, now restored, was damaged by external catering team setting up for corporate event
News
The man who spent 40 years preserving Palmyra’s past
Polish archaeologist Michal Gawlikowski on his hopes for the war-torn city and his friendship with murdered scholar Khaled al-Asaad
NewsConservation
Concrete-encased Cadillac stops traffic in Chicago
Restored Fluxus work launches city-wide celebration of public art
News
Croatian heritage has a friend in Britain
Over the past 25 years, the International Trust for Croatian Monuments has raised more than £500,000 to repair the ravages of war
News
‘Rescue archaeologists’ head to Iraq
First group of Iraqis trained by British Museum staff return home
NewsArtists
New York museum and galleries celebrate Richard Pousette-Dart centenary
On the 100th anniversary of his birth, the late artist’s foundation has also undertaken the conservation of his hospital triptych Presence, Healing Circles
NewsConservation
Researchers burst Moholy-Nagy’s bubbles at the Guggenheim
Conservators and plastics experts worked together to examine the warps and flaws in the artist's Plexiglas experiments
NewsConservation
Weimar blazes a trail with restoration of burned books
Library has saved half a million pages since major fire of 2004
NewsConservation
Church murals by Delacroix get a fresh look
NewsConservation
Musée de Cluny’s treasures head to Texas
News
Science, then and now, reveals marvels of Medieval manuscripts
Fitzwilliam’s anniversary exhibition breaks ground across the centuries
NewsConservation
Curtain rises on Buddha restoration
Visitors to Boston will see conservators at work
NewsConservation
Artist transforms French cathedral treasury into an Aladdin’s cave of colour
Jean-Michel Othoniel used his trademark coloured beads to create an immersive environment
NewsConservation
Cleaning of Chandos Portrait could confirm what Shakespeare looked like
The relic-like painting of the Bard, which hung in the Duke's Theatre in the 1660s, was the first work donated to London's National Portrait Gallery upon its founding
NewsDisasters & destruction
Earthquake in Myanmar damages at least 100 Buddhist pagodas
Tremors from the earthquake were felt in Thailand, India and Bangladesh
News
Dambulla temple in Sri Lanka will not be stripped of Unesco world heritage status
Organisation issues statement after international press raised concerns that the holy site could be delisted<br> <br>
NewsConservation
Former French culture minister calls for halt to restoration of Galerie Vivienne
The character of the 19th-century glass-covered gallery, a National Historic Monument, would be wiped out by the renovation, Jack Lang says
NewsConservation
Fears over the future of a Keith Haring mural in New York
The director of the artist’s foundation once called the piece “a lexicon of his vocabulary”
NewsAntiquities & Archaeology
Stone-age skier irreparably damaged by well-intentioned youth
Two minors carved over a pictogram at one of Norway’s most important archaeological sites
News
Louvre-Lens to restore Le Brun lost after the French Revolution
Painting of Christ once owned by the Sun King went missing for 200 years and was almost completely obscured by age and layers of dirt
News
All aboard the Mary Rose: Henry VIII’s fully restored warship opens to the public
Visitors will be able to see the Tudor king's favourite vessel up close as protective barriers come down
NewsConservation
Seventeen Le Corbusier buildings named World Heritage Sites by Unesco
The stark Modernist structures are on the conservation list along with other sites in the Caribbean, India and Brazil
NewsConservation
Getty and Rothschild team up for fellowship supporting 'innovative scholarship'
Art historians and conservators will study at the Getty in Los Angeles and Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire
News
Wake-up call: climate change is serious threat to our heritage
As the Unesco World Heritage Committee convenes in Istanbul, a recent report by the organisation highlights sites under threat from global warming<br>
News
MoMA breathes life into Bruce Conner’s gas chamber sculpture
The haunting work titled CHILD goes on show in New York after two decades away from the public eye
News
International Council of Museums conference: institutions asked to think beyond collections
Participants in Milan will ponder the relationship between museums and the cultural landscape<br>
News
Project to restore Christ’s tomb kickstarted by $1.3m donation
News
Loan to Los Angeles renews Getty’s Italian connection
NewsConservation
South London Gallery in Peckham needs £1m more for its fire station
Gallery nears fundraising goal for restoration project
NewsConservation
Peggy Guggenheim’s Picasso goes a whiter shade of pale
The artist's The Studio restored to its original brightness
NewsConservation
When disasters strike, keep calm and conserve
Facing physical, financial and political catastrophe, leading conservators share their survival strategies
NewsConservation
Cuba or bust: conservators from US plan study trip
Mission will focus on Cuba's photographic collections
NewsConservation
Silk Road leads to Los Angeles as Getty show recreates Mogao Grottoes
Long-term China-US project produces replicas of caves from the ancient world’s “information superhighway”
NewsConservation
Revealed: how altarpiece broke in disastrous fall at London's National Gallery
Recently published records show that 14th-century work suffered serious damage in 1989
NewsExhibitions
Rubens painting unseen for 80 years unveiled in St Petersburg
Recently restored painting, The Resurrection of Christ, is going on show at the State Hermitage Museum
NewsConservation
Conservators to mull modern challenges
NewsConservation
New replica of Lascaux caves to open this year
NewsConservation
Ancient graves shed new light on Jiangsu
NewsConservation
Medieval dog tag is among Russian finds
NewsConservation
Lizards’ feet inspire new dust removal techniques
NewsConservation
Robot divers sent to search for sunken treasures
Comment
Isil rampage: a threat to cultural heritage that belongs to all
James Cuno, the president of the Getty Trust, says the world must find ways to intervene and protect antiquities when nation-states cannot do so <br>
CommentSalvator Mundi
Is Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci? Amid the current flurry of ill-informed controversies, let us turn to the science
Can the leaked Louvre book give us the final word on the much-maligned painting that we all need?
Martin Kemp