Soane himself conserved his collections. He had pictures cleaned and frames re-gilded (in one year he bought 654 books of gold leaf for the purpose!) and had blinds installed in all his interiors to regulate light. He may even (judging from imaginary drapes shown in a fantasy watercolour by J.M. Gandy – detail below) have considered drapes over delicate watercolours to protect them from light –although there is no evidence that he had any actually installed in his house.
After his death Curators of the Museum during the 19th and 20th century had conservation work done and there are many bills in the Soane archive for re-painting plaster casts, mending frames, cleaning oil paintings etc. as well as for regular cleaning, dusting etc. Some of the work done, such as ‘washing’ casts, may have unwittingly caused damage as water tends to drive dirt into a plaster surface and fix it there permanently.
However, it was not until Peter Thornton was appointed Curator in 1984 that any permanent conservation staff were retained by the Museum: he allocated rooms on the 2nd floor of No. 12 to serve as conservation studios (they had to double up as staff kitchen, photocopier and fax room etc.) and brought in two conservators still working for the Museum today, Jane Wilkinson (works of art/surfaces) and Margaret Schuelein (paper). Both were self-employed and part-time. He also applied for money from the Henry Moore Foundation for a programme of sculpture conservation over three years during the 1990s. For the first time, Conservation became a permanent daily concern of the Museum, overseen by the Deputy Director.
Following the appointment of Tim Knox in 2005, the advent of the OUTS project and the commitment from the Foundation to support Conservation work here, Jane Wilkinson has become a full-time employee and as of this year Lucy Swettenham has been appointed as an additional part-time conservator. Conservation has expanded and professionalised in many respects. All the warding staff are now trained in Conservation Housekeeping and we have regular on-going training run by Jane with assistance from the National Trust Head Housekeeper Helen Lloyd. There is an on-going programme of deep cleaning around the house, an Intregrated Pest Management system, environmental monitoring in all rooms, UV film and blinds have been installed throughout the house and book and bookcase cleaning is carried out regularly by the warding staff. Conservation has its own presence on the museum’s web-site and the re-furbishment of the studios is underway – with the prospect of being able to allow visitors to see conservation in action much more in the future.
Image: P87 Detail