Conservation

In time for Christmas: London's National Gallery unveils newly-restored Piero della Francesca nativity scene

Painstaking restoration of Italian master’s revered painting reveals its full glory once more

Should the world resume co-operating with the Taliban on protecting Afghanistan's heritage?

Conservation projects that have been paused due to sanctions on the new government may restart after Unesco intervention

Taliban government approves conservation work on historic synagogue in Afghanistan

Go ahead given to a restoration project to preserve two historic sites associated with the Jewish community that once resided in Herat

Modigliani’s hidden depths come to light as historians and conservators reveal new aspects of his technique

The Italian artist's paintings and sculptures were studied ahead of an exhibition at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia

Canova’s monument gets protection from Venice's challenging conditions

Vast pyramid containing sculptor’s heart has been restored with Venice in Peril funding, but will need continuous care and protection from worsening weather and pollution

Rijksmuseum strongly denies claims it is sinking due to wood-rotting fungi

Dutch national museum opposes the report claiming its foundations have been infected, stating the building “has not sunk a millimetre”

How can live art be held in museum collections? Tate conference to share its conclusions

An online conference backed by a research project will explore how institutions can care for time-based, live and organic art

Ukraine gets emergency Red List for art as evidence mounts of 'trading networks flowing West'

The International Council of Museums has worked with Interpol to create the list, with border patrols on "high alert" to seize art stolen from Ukrainian museums—but is it too late?

Investigation of Vermeer painting reveals 'startling discoveries' about his technique

Analysis of The Milkmaid ahead of a major exhibition at the Rijksmuseum suggests he worked much faster than previously assumed

Do the Taliban regret blowing up the Bamiyan Buddhas? New government takes steps to protect heritage

Leaders of the new Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan says it favours the conservation of the tangible heritage—including pre-Islamic monuments—but economic sanctions are getting in the way

After a devastating fire in 2018, the National Museum of Brazil unveils the first stage of its restoration project

As the first stage of the museum’s restoration project is unveiled, coinciding with the Brazilian bicentennial of independence, its director calls for more government investment

Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art closes for fumigation after paper-eating bugs spotted inside artwork

Silverfish were filmed behind the glazing of a photograph by Bernd and Hilla Becher at the Iranian museum

The conservation studio is the coalface of art history—but not all 'restorations' can be solved with acetone

While my past purchases are lined up for a professional clean, it is the current damage of international cultural relations that seem most in need of a fix

Ukrainian churches and places of worship devastated by war

As Russia's war continues, conservation is proving impossible—but heritage groups, priests and volunteers are doing their best to document the destruction

Ghostly self-portrait of Van Gogh discovered on the back of his painting of a peasant

The x-ray will be displayed in a lightbox in the forthcoming exhibition A Taste for Impressionism at National Galleries of Scotland

Show of unity: the hidden challenges of staging major museum exhibitions

With loan shows bringing together dozens of works with diverse conservation histories, curators can face myriad hurdles in their quest for cohesion

How do you conserve a sculpture designed to decay?

Neri Oxman’s exhibition at SFMOMA features two versions of a sculpture made with bio-composite materials, one of which will decompose over the course of show

Babylon is coming back to life, with its famed Ishtar Gate to be restored by this summer

A new World Monuments Fund project in conjunction with the US embassy in Baghdad aims to repair Iraqi cultural heritage as part of the Future of Babylon project

Generational continuum: Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art rejuvenates Sol LeWitt’s wall drawings

Eight of the 105 wall drawings in the sweeping retrospective, slated to be on view until 2043, will be restored as part of the project

Mystery mural uncovered behind Beverly Hilton rooftop bar

The glass mosaic depicts figures from Classical mythology and was installed when the hotel opened in 1955—but remained hidden behind a wall for decades

London's National Maritime Museum launches campaign to rescue giant decaying tapestry—unseen for decades

Commissioned by Charles II, the work depicts the 1672 Battle of Solebay between the English and Dutch in which the 1st Earl of Sandwich drowned

Van Gogh gets a facelift: conservation of self-portrait to be revealed in London

The Kröller-Müller Museum painting will be unveiled in the Courtauld Gallery’s exhibition

a blog by Martin Bailey

Rijksmuseum discovers 'the genesis' of Rembrandt’s Night Watch

Original sketch has been revealed beneath the paint, shedding light on the Dutch master's intention—but worrying deterioration of the famous picture has also been found

Fragonard’s The Swing has been restored—and it's saucier than ever

The great Rococo painting in the Wallace Collection in London has been cleaned, revealing some mischievous details

Progressive scientists, or high-flying elitists? The Met unlocks a secret behind a famous Jacques-Louis David portrait

Scientific testing reveals that the artist radically changed his depiction of a Paris couple in a landmark 1788 painting

Afghanistananalysis

Afghanistan: the historical sites of key concern after the Taliban's return

From the Bamiyan Valley to an ancient spiritual centre of Zoroastrianism and Buddhism, former Unesco senior official Francesco Bandarin looks at the embattled country’s most important landmarks

Heritagecomment

With the Taliban’s take-over of Afghanistan, intangible cultural heritage is most at threat

The music, poetry, traditions and crafts that are kept alive by communities are especially vulnerable under the group’s ultra-conservative rule and the economic chaos of continuing conflict

Your carriage awaits: Beekman Family Coach undergoes live conservation at the New-York Historical Society

Research on the historic piece of decorative art has revealed some surprising evidence that many of its original materials are intact

John Singleton Copley double portrait lovingly restored, pock marks and all

So-called imperfections laid bare at the Philadelphia Museum of Art