Last night’s episode of “Antiques Roadshow” featured a ship portrait by SMF Badger. The expert told the owner that although the painting had suffered damages and was dirty, she should not have it restored. Her rational was that cleaning of the painting would result in the removal of the rigging and sail lines. It is true that in some cases the pigments are quite sensitive to cleaning solutions, but not in all. The rigging in the Badger painting above is quite stable, but careful tests needed to be conducted to determine that fact, and caution observed throughout the cleaning process. What I wish she had said was, “Make sure that when you have your painting restored, you go to a reputable conservator who has experience with cleaning marine paintings of this era.”

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