NewsConservation & Preservation
Puerto Rico prepares to assess toll of powerful earthquakes
A colonial-era church collapses and more damage to historic buildings is expected
NewsYemen
Museum restoration offers rare glimmer of hope in war-torn Yemen
Yemeni authorities and World Monuments Fund team up to repair ruined National Museum in Taiz
NewsRestoration
Ghent Altarpiece: latest phase of restoration unmasks the humanised face of the Lamb of God
Second stage of open-access restoration of Van Eyck brothers’ masterpiece strips away 16th-century overpainting to reveal an abundance of fine details
NewsConservation & Preservation
Geneva-based foundation Aliph directs $10m to heritage conservation projects in conflict zones
Sites targeted range from a Yemeni palace in ruins to a shrine destroyed by the Islamic State in Iraq
NewsConservation & Preservation
Tefaf awards conservation grants for a Wright interior and a colonial Bolivian painting
V&A and Lacma plan to stabilise and restore works to their original appearance
NewsConservation & Preservation
Science illuminates art in Detroit’s celebration of Bruegel’s The Wedding Dance
Conservators discover that the 1566 painting was once bluer and revisit the exposure of the notorious codpieces
NewsConservation & Preservation
Looted in Germany by Stalin’s brigades, a restored goddess goes on view at the Hermitage
Bronze sculpture gets new wings in a collaboration with Berlin’s Antikensammlung
NewsConservation & Preservation
Weaver uncovers hidden patterns beneath Old Master paintings
For artisan Helena Loermans, uncovering the intricate weaves of artists' canvases is like “a detective story”
NewsConservation & Preservation
Conserving canvas: from tear-mending to 'mist lining’, conservators share their techniques
Hundreds gather as the Getty convenes the first major international conference on the issue in 45 years
NewsConservation & Preservation
Cold War-era mosaic sees light of day again in eastern Germany
Reappearance of a Josep Renau mural hints at a greater acceptance of East German public art
NewsRestoration
Fresh meat: painting restoration reveals that hunk of beef thought to be cooked was actually raw
The 17th-century work features in a newly opened exhibition on art and food at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge
NewsConservation & Preservation
Derelict iron flaxmill is brought back to life in Shrewsbury
Building was considered an audacious architectural experiment when it was built in 1797
NewsConservation & Preservation
Conservators to restore Michelangelo’s Florence Pietà in full view of visitors
Restoration will remove centuries of grime and stabilise the sculpture at the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo
NewsConservation & Preservation
Scientists uncover a secret to rock art’s durability
Ancient artisans in British Columbia heated ochre “gunk” to high temperatures to achieve a vivid and long-lasting red
NewsMuseums & Heritage
New Hampshire museum acquires a rare house by Frank Lloyd Wright
The 1957 home, the Currier Museum of Art's second Wright dwelling, is built in the “Usonian Automatic” style, with rectangular concrete blocks
NewsConservation & Preservation
Castle opening crowns £150m revival of Bishop Auckland
Millionaire Jonathan Ruffer’s ambitious regeneration of a small former mining town in northern England reveals 1,000 years of history and art
NewsConservation & Preservation
After a discovery, Rothko Chapel moves to shore up its walls
Lack of steel reinforcement results in a plan to insert rebar, delaying the reopening of the Modernist sanctuary
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
NewsIraq
As protests rage in Iraq, experts say culture is key to long-term reconstruction
Iraqi culture ministry announces new national museum in Baghdad as Mosul restoration plan is extended to historic churches
NewsConservation & Preservation
Citing daunting threats, World Monuments Fund lists 25 endangered sites
Bears Ears in the US, a Peruvian valley near Machu Picchu and Notre Dame in Paris join the 2020 roster
NewsConservation & Preservation
Renaissance woman Plautilla Nelli's Last Supper unveiled after restoration in Florence
Seven-metre painting offers "canvas proof" that self-taught nun ran an all-female workshop in her convent 450 years ago
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
NewsMusée du Louvre
Louvre director plots great collections reshuffle
Jean-Luc Martinez reveals his big plans for the museum and why 250,000 objects must leave Paris
NewsConservation & Preservation
Grant will help restore two long-lost frescoes in San Francisco
The project contrasts with a decision to cover up a controversial 1930s school mural in the same city
NewsConservation & Preservation
Poignant online videos showcase 20 sites from Alabama’s civil rights era
World Monuments Fund joins partners in launching an oral history project
NewsConservation & Preservation
Getty plans sweeping $100m initiative to promote the world’s cultural heritage
Projects will range from exhibitions about the classical world to conservation and excavations and a book about “heritage and mass atrocities”
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 & Preservation
Probing nine paintings, conservators in Amsterdam unlock Chagall’s secrets
Research project at the Stedelijk Museum sheds light on some of the artist’s techniques
NewsCathedral of Notre Dame
Laser scan may one day aid Notre Dame’s restorers
A 2010-12 effort to map every inch of the cathedral could help the post-fire reconstruction
NewsPhotography
Germany plans photography archive to preserve 'visual memory of our society'
Culture minister Monika Grütters enlists international experts to help create a central institution but critics question necessity and feasibility
NewsRenaissance
Science provides first deep dive into overlooked female Old Master Lavinia Fontana's work
After a grant enabled conservation on a much-loved painting, researchers at the National Gallery of Ireland are learning more about the artist’s technique
NewsConservation & Preservation
New York Public Library shores up its marble lions
Two-month conservation effort for the sculptures follows a public appeal to donors
NewsConservation & Preservation
San Francisco school board votes to preserve but conceal a controversial mural
Its 4-3 decision reverses an earlier vote to paint over a 1930s work that some parents and board members found racist and damaging to students
NewsInternational
Photography collective takes a stand against wildlife crime
Internationally renowned photographers join forces to publish a crowdfunded book in English and Mandarin that raises awareness of China’s illegal trade in animals
NewsConservation
A Wall Street lobby restored to its former glory
A vast Art Deco mosaic celebrates the artistry of its overlooked creator
AnalysisAntiquities & Archaeology
A Getty lifeline for classical mosaics in the Middle East and North Africa
As the Getty winds down its decade-long Mosaikon project, it leaves behind a legacy of expertise in a region threatened by looting and political unrest
NewsConservation & Preservation
Microsoft aims to harness AI for heritage projects
From languages to historic artefacts, the company will use technology to preserve and celebrate traditional cultures
NewsConservation & Preservation
Moscow Kremlin Museums say ‘bravo!’ to restorers
State regalia, Russian icons and decorative pistols go on show in exhibition celebrating the hidden craft of conservation
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
NewsConservation & Preservation
Going undercover: Scotland's leaky Mackintosh treasure shielded by 197-tonne chainmail box
Hill House in Helensburgh has been covered to protect it from the rain while National Trust makes conservation plans
NewsVenice
Solid evidence that Venice's Mose mobile flood barriers have serious conservation faults
Repair work is estimated to take ten years, calling the operational date of 2021 into question
NewsConservation & Preservation
Aliph global protection fund announces 14 projects across multiple war zones
The Minaret of Jam in Afghanistan, Syria’s Raqqa Museum and Mosul libraries all safeguarded
NewsConservation & Preservation
Getty shores up Peruvian church in an earthquake zone
The preservation project could serve as a prototype for saving other earthen buildings
NewsConservation & Preservation
Conservators restore Africa’s first animated film in colour
Nigerien pioneer Moustapha Alassane’s stop-motion work Samba the Great is being screened in Bologna
BlogAdventures with Van Gogh
A once-in-a-lifetime look behind Van Gogh’s Sunflowers
The Van Gogh Museum’s masterpiece has suffered from a 1960s restoration which involved the insertion of three long metal bolts
NewsConservation & Preservation
British Library shares conservation experts with Palestinian Museum
New partnership will preserve the Birzeit museum’s most ‘at-risk’ objects on paper
ReviewConservation & Preservation
Quarries, quarrels and a lesbian affair: the life of sculptor Mary Spencer Watson
The Dorset farmhouse in which she lived with her father, the portrait painter George Spencer Watson, has been recently restored by the Landmark Trust
NewsConservation & Preservation
Conservation project channels thinking of Angkor’s original builders
World Monuments Fund completes restoration of the eastern half of Phnom Bakheng temple
NewsConservation & Preservation
Ugo Rondinone’s day-glo desert installation Seven Magic Mountains gets a fresh coat of paint
The popular public art work has been restored with the aim of keeping it Instagram-ready through 2021 or longer
NewsFilms
Victorians in pictures: British Film Institute digitises archive of over 500 early silent films
Conservation experts carefully cleaned the fragile and flammable nitrate film so each frame could be individually scanned
CommentLeaders
Comment | Cupid ‘outing’ in Vermeer painting is the right move
The uncovered figure changes the composition of Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window
NewsConservation & Preservation
Eileen Gray’s and Le Corbusier’s architectural gems reopen after extensive restoration
A Modernist villa and hut in the south of France feature wall paintings by Le Corbusier
NewsArchitecture
Nazi site in Nuremberg to be preserved but not restored
German city launches €85m plan to prevent further decay of infamous rally grounds
NewsExhibitions
Virtual reality tour offers glimpse of François Pinault’s long-awaited, grand Paris gallery
Exhibition at the Palazzo Grassi in Venice shows Tadao Ando’s designs for the Bourse de Commerce building
NewsConservation & Preservation
Guggenheim launches conservation fellowship with help from Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin
Initiative aims to boost Russian expertise in rapidly developing field of preserving contemporary art
NewsDiscoveries
Hidden Cupid resurfaces in one of Vermeer’s best-known works after two and a half centuries
Laboratory tests revealed "sensational" discovery that the figure in Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window was overpainted decades after the artist’s death
NewsOpenings
Newly restored Hillsborough Castle brims with clues to its past at the heart of Irish politics
Georgian mansion, the Queen’s official residence in Northern Ireland, has reopened to the public
NewsCathedral of Notre Dame
Notre Dame: experts explain why Macron's five-year restoration deadline is impossible
Complex conservation issues mean it could easily take a decade or more to rebuild the Medieval cathedral
NewsConservation & Preservation
Nancy Holt’s desert Sun Tunnels will be cleaned and repaired—but the bullet marks are staying
The artist considered the streaks left by gunfire to be part of the Land Art work's evolution
CommentCathedral of Notre Dame
In Notre Dame, we find a heritage that invites us to breathe and reflect
A spire competition is the wrong approach
NewsMuseums & Heritage
How to future-proof a work of art that will not be completed for 100 years
As Katie Paterson's sand castle project goes on tour, we look at how her Future Library is being made to outlive the artist
NewsAttribution
Does a Minnesota college own a portrait by Edvard Munch?
Scientific evidence points to St Olaf College’s Portrait of Eva Mudocci being the real deal, but scholars of the artist’s work are reserving judgement
NewsConservation & Preservation
The Getty Conservation Institute maps out a plan to preserve the Eames House
The Los Angeles Modernist home was designed and lived in by Charles and Ray Eames
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Conceptual and Minimalist trove raises bedeviling questions for the Guggenheim
Grappling with questions of authenticity, museum 'decommissions' some works from the Panza Collection
NewsMuseums & Heritage
X-ray of Uffizi's Artemisia Gentileschi reveals a tantalising underpainting
The portrait has striking similarities to a recent acquisition by the National Gallery in London
NewsConservation & Preservation
Fragile inheritance: US museums bridge skills gap in conservation of Chinese paintings
Philanthropic funding assures new training for the next generation of masters to emerge
NewsMuseums & Heritage
New £20m Windermere Jetty Museum launches restored steamboats on the lake
Historic vessels set sail again from wet dock at the heart of the Lake District boating museum
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Greenwich's Painted Hall reopens with day beds for visitors to admire 'England's Sistine Chapel'
Two-year restoration of James Thornhill's dizzying Baroque interior was the largest open-access conservation project in Europe
NewsConservation & Preservation
Stolen in 1985, a recovered de Kooning will undergo conservation treatment
University of Arizona Museum of Art will send its painting, damaged by the thief, to the Getty
NewsConservation & Preservation
Rothko Chapel to be restored, and gain auxiliary buildings
Artist's son says the project will "do right by my father’s vision for the space"
NewsConservation & Preservation
New app helps researchers diagnose ‘acne’ afflicting Georgia O'Keeffe's paintings
Bumps caused by chemical reactions can now be mapped by waving a hand-held device that one professor likens to a Star Trek “tricorder”
NewsConservation & Preservation
American donations shore up conservation efforts in France
From Paris to Chartres, US philanthropy makes its mark
AnalysisRembrandt
Trimmed, splashed and slashed: the anatomy of Rembrandt's The Night Watch
As the Rijksmuseum prepares to restore the Dutch master’s most-celebrated painting in full view of the public, we look at its chequered conservation history
CommentVenice
The Turkish shareholders in the port of Venice want to keep cruise ships coming—and the mayor supports them
The World Heritage Committee is meeting in Baku and intends to dodge declaring Venice endangered for the third time
Anna Somers Cocks