The Bank of America Art Conservation Project recently released information on the objects that had received conservation treatment in the last year as part of their annual grant project. Thirteen museums in seven countries received grants, including Gallery Systems clients Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Brooklyn Museum, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA), Richmond.
Since 2010, the Art Conservation Project from Bank of America has funded the conservation and restoration of thousands of artworks. Museums and galleries looking to conserve or restore works in many mediums—paintings, sculpture, works on paper and manuscripts, archaeological or architectural pieces—may be eligible for next year’s grants. Eligible works are those that are:
- Significant to the cultural heritage of a region;
- Important to the history of art and/or an artist’s oeuvre;
- Important to the institution’s collection and available for public viewing after conservation.
For Boston, this grant will allow conservators to remove coats of varnish from Vincent van Gogh’s paintings, Enclosed Field with Ploughman and Houses at Auvers, which were added after his death. It will also give the museum an opportunity to frame Enclosed Field with Ploughman, and study the materials and techniques of both paintings. At VMFA, conservation work will include the restoration of 60 works on paper by German Expressionists from their Ludwig and Rosy Fischer Collection.
A full list of recipients and project details can be found here. To assess your project’s eligibility and submit a grant proposal, visit www.bankofamerica.com/foundation.
