Support the restoration of Stockdale Cope’s Naval Officers of World War I
We reached our £20,000 target to repair this artwork.
The Gallery’s display in 2014 returned this important painting to public view for the first time in many decades to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the start of the Great War.
Naval Officers of World War I by Sir Arthur Stockdale Cope is one of three large group portraits commissioned by the South African financier Sir Abraham (‘Abe’) Bailey in the aftermath of the Great War.
As seen here, large areas of the painting had a dull and hazy appearance, which is a common sign of oil paint degradation. The appearance of the painting has been greatly improved by surface cleaning.
The canvas needed to be re-stretched and strip-lined to strengthen the tacking edges which, as seen here, had perished in places. This treatment allowed the large canvas to be re-aligned and re-tensioned.
This was a large old tear which had been mended poorly, the join being overlapped in places and badly secured. The tear needed re-aligning, re-weaving and securing with modern materials.
Here the paint surface was very disfigured and dull-looking. Treatment with a weak cleaning solution was needed to improve its appearance. Due to the size of the canvas, this required many hours work.
Artist Rachel Hemming Bray was documenting the work of Bush & Berry in their Bristol studio whilst they conserved the portrait.
rachelhemmingbray.co.uk