Rediscovering Decorative Finishes!
The Guest Room
The Second Floor Alcove
In 2007 Conservator Bob Dodge began to remove the sky blue paint that covered the walls of the second floor alcove. Since the walls of the entire second floor hallway were painted to look like a burnt orange sienna marble, it was likely that a decorative finish lay beneath the blue paint. What he and the Museum Director found was completely unexpected! Instead of faux marble, they discovered large faux wood panels surrounded by faux moldings and diamond coiffers, all painted to look like different types of wood. To see more of the details of this exciting discovery visit the Lippitt House!
This conservation project was funded with the generous support of the Felicia Fund.
August 2010
11.23.10 Restoration Update: Art conservator Bob Dodge continues to diligently restore an alcove at the front of the house on the second floor of the museum. The project is made possible by generous funding from the Felicia Fund.
As restoration progresses, the surface of one of two primary walls appears to look restored from a distance, but up close another intensive stage in the restoration process has just begun - the challenge of recreating minute details of the shading that bring the two-dimensional faux painted wood panels and mouldings to life. The shading technique originally employed is unusual because it is created with small gradations of very thin lines that require detailed recreate as opposed to a traditional artist's technique of blending and blurring colors together for a similar effect.
Next time you are in the house, ask us about visiting the alcove to see Bob's progress for yourself!
April 2011
April 2011
North wall completed, but you can see before an after restoration at the corner
The Guest Room
The guest room at the Governor Lippitt House is located on the second floor at the front northwest corner of the house, overlooking the intersection of Hope Street and Angell Street. The Lippitt's guests would have enjoyed a spendidly decorated room with their own private bathroom, a luxury in 1865! In the photo below, taken around 1900, you can see the decorative floral motif painted below the molding along the ceiling. This delicate detailing made the room unique, and therefore particulary special for their guests.
Around the 1970s, for reasons unknown, the walls were painted over and the the decorative finishes forgotten. With the historic photo (below) as evidence of the existance of decorative finishes, and with physical evidence of shadows showing through the layers of paint, the Museum Director and art conservator Bob Dodge selected a test area to look for futher evidence of the decorative finishes beneath the layers of paint. What they found was an exciting discovery! Below the many layers of paint were the beautifully detailed flowers and foliage, still vibrant in color and realism. Below are the photographs of the initial test area.
This conservation project was funded with the generous support of the Felicia Fund.
