Treatment of

Frame for Portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Mifflin (Sarah Morris)

John Singleton Copley

(1773)

Philadelphia Museum of Art

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This gilded frame surrounds a 1773 portrait by John Singleton Copley of Thomas Mifflin and Sarah Morris Mifflin, a prominent Philadelphia couple.  In addition to some minor structural issues and unsympathetic loss compensations, the frame had several generations of over-gilding and a thick, glossy surface finish which were unappealing and inconsistent with the appearance of the earliest gilding layers.  The treatment involved structural stabilization of the wooden substrate, the fabrication of a new corner rosette element, selective removal of over-gilding and surface finish, and reintegration of damages, losses, sites of cleaning tests, and loss compensations.  This treatment was supervised by PMA paintings conservator Lucia Bay, and consultation and guidance on cleaning tests and finish treatment was provided by Stephanie Hulman, conservator and owner at Decorative Arts Conservation, LLC.      

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View full conservation treatment report HERE