January at The Conservation Center

 

January at The Center

As we bundle up and muster through the coldest part of the year in Chicago, we've been keeping warm with plenty of projects at The Center. As a special feature this month, we're highlighting three stunning portraits of female sitters that our Painting Department has been working on, all with dramatic transformations. Scroll down and click each image to learn more about these powerful pieces and the treatments performed.  When you're finished,  watch a video from our Antique Frames & Gilding Department as a Pissarro frame is re-gilded. Finally, if you're searching for a new show to watch, Heritage Broadcasting Service's new feature might be just the thing!

Protecting Poppet   “Poppet” has two definitions: either as an informal British term for an endearingly sweet young girl, or a small figure of a human being used in sorcery and witchcraft. While the portrait Poppet from the Fischer Governor Foundation must refer to the former, she certainly cast a spell on us as she underwent treatment in our Painting Department.

Portrait of a Lady Gets Patched Up   A young woman sits gracefully with confidence at the center of a portrait, her eyes gazing directly at the viewer – or, as fate would have it, at our team of conservators as they determined the best treatment option for this painting.

Preserving a Mysterious Portrait   When this darkened painting came to The Center for treatment, we knew we were working with a special piece of history. The subject of this portrait is an unidentified woman dating back to 1860, a time when only those of high status could afford to have oil portraits done of themselves. This piece of information gives little insight into who this woman was and the life she lived.

Water Gilding a Pissarro Frame   Watch our Senior Conservator of Antique Frames & Gilded Objects work on a Pissarro Frame in our laboratories using real 24 karat gold leaf and timeless techniques.

Stout Hearted: George Stout and the Guardians of Art    If you've worked your way through Netflix and you're searching for a high-quality documentary, enjoy this offering from Heritage Broadcasting Service, with a cameo from The Center!

Heather Becker in Collaboration with Jeanne Gang at Carrie Secrist Gallery Virtual Webinar on February 10 at 6 pm CT   Heather Becker, CEO of The Conservation Center, and Jeanne Gang, founding principal and partner at Studio Gang, are featured in collaboration in a group show at Carrie Secrist Gallery, ONLY CONNECT. Tune into a virtual talk on Wednesday, February 10, at 6 pm CT to hear both artists discuss how they connect, their respective studio practices, and their creative lives.

WEBINAR LINK

Chicago Humanities Festival >> To Dibs or Not to Dibs?

  

PRESENTERS IN THE NEWS FURTHER READING This week we're reading a new essay by Michelle Duster on the life and legacy of her great-grandmother, Ida B. Wells, and how her journalism continues to inspire and propel change today. Looking to dive into a new book? A Times-curated list of literary luminaries offers excellent recommendations that go well beyond the cannon, featuring insightful texts and grand stories recommended by Bill Gates, Joan Didion, Nikki Giovanni, Colson Whitehead, Patti Smith, Margaret Atwood and more. Jill Lepore recently turned her attention to the byzantine network of the internet, and investigates how traditional cloak-and-dagger spy craft has largely been replaced by exploits in the commonplace software that runs the modern world. As snow descends on Chicago, Monica Eng asks the perennial question of dibs— Is leaving chairs out to mark your parking spot fair play? Michelle Duster: Silencing Ida B. Wells Was Never Going to Happen (Literary Hub) Multiple Presenters: 25 Great Writers and Thinkers Weigh In on Books That Matter (The New York Times) Jill Lepore: The Next Cyberattack Is Already Under Way (The New Yorker) Monica Eng: To Dibs Or Not To Dibs? The Essential Chicago Question (WBEZ)

UPCOMING PROGRAM BILL GATES: HOW TO AVOID A CLIMATE DISASTER

Virtual Event: February 25, 2021 at 7pm Central Time In this urgent, authoritative book, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, Bill Gates sets out a wide-ranging, practical—and accessible—plan for how the world can get to zero greenhouse gas emissions in time to avoid a climate catastrophe. Gates has spent a decade investigating the causes and effects of climate change. With the help of experts in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, political science, and finance, he has focused on what must be done in order to stop the planet’s slide toward certain environmental disaster. In this book, he not only explains why we need to work toward net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases, but also details what we need to do to achieve this profoundly important goal. At CHF, Gates is joined by Dax Shepard and Monica Padman (Armchair Expert podcast) for a conversation about the solutions we have and the breakthroughs we need to save the planet. LEARN MORE AND REGISTER This program is generously underwritten by Northern Trust. This program presented in partnership with Seminary Co-op Bookstores and Literati Bookstore.  FROM THE ARCHIVE COURAGE & COMMUNITY We're revisiting our conversations on the legacy and ground-breaking journalism of Ida B. Wells, as well as the community-building power of Chicago's My Block, My Hood, My City. 2018 Overlooked: Ida B. Wells Born in Mississippi within a year of emancipation, journalist and activist Ida B. Wells lit up the lynching-laden, injustice-soaked Jim Crow-era south with boycotts, legal battles, and scorching editorials. Nikole Hannah-Jones (investigative reporter for The New York Times Magazine); Michelle Duster (Wells’ great granddaughter); and Eve L. Ewing come together in recognition of the enduring legacy of Ida B. Wells-Barnett, and the equally enduring fight for racial justice. Natalie Moore (South Side bureau reporter for WBEZ) will moderate. 2018 ​Signs for Community Jahmal Cole and Amanda Seligman team up to talk about the history and function of Chicago's neighborhood block clubs. Seligman, a historian and author of Chicago’s Block Clubs: How Neighbors Shape the City, has studied the rich history of block clubs as community organizing forces. Cole, an education activist and founder of My Block, My Hood, My City, a youth-focused organization. They are joined in conversation by Jen Sebella, Co-founder of hyper local news outlet, Block Club Chicago. CONTINUING OUR MISSION YOUR SUPPORT MATTERS We are grateful for your support in bringing important ideas to audiences everywhere. Thank you for continuing to help CHF as we expand our digital programming. MAKE A DONATION

BOX OFFICE: 312-605-8444 / CHICAGOHUMANITIES.ORG MAJOR FESTIVAL SUPPORTERS FESTIVAL SUPPORTERS PARTNERS PREMIER MEDIA PARTNERS MEDIA PARTNERS Follow us Copyright © 2021 Chicago Humanities Festival, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Chicago Humanities Festival 500 N Dearborn St Ste 825 Chicago, IL 60654