2 days till the National Trust of Australia (NSW) Heritage Awards…
The ICS team is looking forward to this great annual opportunity to celebrate best practice heritage conservation, not least because we are involved in 3 projects shortlisted in the same category!
Asking which one we would like to win is akin to asking a parent which is their favourite child.
So in no order of preference, our nominated projects for the Interiors and Objects category are:
Q Station Inscriptions Conservation, Manly – entered by Q Station and International Conservation Services
'Joy' Statue Darlinghurst - entered by City of Sydney
Chinatown Ceremonial Gates, Haymarket – entered by City of Sydney
From the conservation lab to the gallery wall...
It’s been a few months since the Newcastle Art Gallery reopened to fanfare, proudly displaying its $40 million expansion.
Now the dust has settled, it is time to celebrate and share the 2 years it took to bring the artworks to this momentous moment.
Starting in May 2024 and continuing until the gallery’s reopening, ICS has been working behind the scenes to assess the collection and ready it for its new space.
300 treated artworks later, and our teams from Sydney and Melbourne were thrilled to stand next to the artworks they conserved in the new gallery spaces.
Photos:
Alis Jitarescu, Principal Conservator, Paintings & Decorative Arts, Sydney
Francesca Elia, Painting Conservator, Sydney
Eden Christian, Senior Conservator & Team Leader, Fine Arts, Melbourne
We were delighted to welcome members of the National Trust for a tour of the Melbourne laboratory in Burwood. 🔬🖼️
Members were able to see artworks up close and ask questions while the conservators talked about current treatments, including a few pieces from the National Trust!
#Internationalconservationservices #ICS #ICSMelbourne #conservation #artconservation #nationaltrustaustralia #nationaltrustvictoria #nationaltrust
Ready for Anzac Day 🌱
“Sailors and Ships” by Ante Dabro, located on Anzac Parade in Canberra, stands as the Royal Australian Navy Memorial. The bronze sculpture honours the service and sacrifice of naval personnel, both those who have lost their lives and those who continue to serve.
ICS Canberra worked with BGIS and the NCA to prepare the memorial for the 2026 Anzac Day services and parades. The memorial plays a central role in the National Commemorative Service and the RSL ACT Branch Veterans’ March each Anzac Day.
Today, the memorial stands proud, ready for its day of remembrance.
Lest we forget.
#InternationalConservationServices #AnzacDay #MemorialConservation
A rare National Trust NSW musical manuscript brought back to life 🎵
A handwritten 1734 music manuscript with a fascinating history recently underwent conservation at ICS to clean and ensure its longevity.
Carefully compiled in the 1730s by two young women of the Scottish upper classes, Margrat Arthour and Helen Wight. It was rediscovered over 200 years later at Riversdale Homestead in Goulburn – tucked away inside a piano.
Now conserved, the manuscript is on display at Riversdale, where visitors can explore its origins and the remarkable story of the women behind it, connected through their love of music.
Photo credit: The manuscript and piano by Nick Nicholson
The conservation funded by the Copland Foundation.
Celebrating our new partnership with the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) 🎉
ICS Melbourne is proud to join forces with the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) as a key conservation partner, supporting the ongoing preservation and care of the state’s cultural heritage.
Our conservators are already at work on significant pieces from Como House & Garden, South Yarra. Built in 1847, this remarkable town mansion blends Australian Regency and classic Italianate architecture. As Australia’s first house museum, its interiors reflect the evolving tastes and lifestyles of the Armytage family, who called Como home for 95 years.
Eden Christian is currently conserving a delightful tilt-top table inlaid with mother-of-pearl, while Christina Ritschel is working on a beautifully beaded prayer stool from the collection.
We look forward to sharing more from this collaboration as the work progresses.
Hidden away in a forest,
in a space-aged aluminium shed,
is a children’s whimsical wonderland.🌳
Built in 1960, this children’s forest cubby was hand painted by the acclaimed children’s illustrators Walter Cunningham and Noela Young.
The magical illustrations consist of fairies, and all manner of Australian animals going about their important everyday business such as housekeeping, playing music and eating dewdrop ice creams.
Our conservators carefully treated areas of water staining, consolidated areas of loss and flaking, and overpainting designs, to bring back the details of the charming characters. The cubby is now ready to delight the next generation of children.
#InternationalConservationServices #ICSSydney #PaintingConservation
Learn about an unexpected discovery behind one of our beloved works of art by Grace Crowley in our collection!
🫶 We'd like to thank our friends at International Conservation Services who undertook this surprising conservation project while our collection was in offsite storage during our major expansion.
You can now see 'Still life' c1938, on display in our fully reopened Gallery! 🖼️
🎥Video by @dukescreations@ics_conservation
Rufus Brash (Cultural Collections Management Officer, Newcastle Museum) was a wonderful temporary addition to the ICS Sydney team💫
ICS supports training and education in the conservation and museum sector, recognising the importance of continued learning and nurturing emerging talent.
Providing hands-on experience is another meaningful way we can support institutions across Australia in preserving their collections and making informed decisions.
@newcastlemuseum
#InternationalConservationServices #ICSSydney #PreventiveConservation #CollectionServices
Satisfying before and after 🫧
ICS Perth gave Palissandro by Alexander at the Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery a deep clean.
Named after the luxurious Italian marble, the sculpture had developed iron staining from bore water exposure, along with black and green lichen growth.
Using a specialist poulticing method, the stone was carefully restored, and the results speak for themselves.✨
#InternationalConservationServices #ICSPerth #SculptureConservation
ICS conservators head to Papua New Guinea ✈️
Matteo Volonté, Head of Paintings Conservation, recently travelled to Papua New Guinea on behalf of the Australian War Memorial to treat Native Bearers Carrying Wounded by Sir William Dargie CBE.
Painted by one of Australia’s most renowned portraitists and official war artists, the work is currently on loan to the PNG National Museum and Art Gallery (NMAG) in Port Moresby, where it is on display in the Kokoda Gallery WWII.
On site, Matteo carried out a detailed condition assessment followed by a maintenance clean, alongside targeted consolidation and retouching. Our work ensures the painting’s ongoing stability and presentation for visitors.
It is a privilege to support the care of such a significant work and to strengthen international partnerships.
Images:
1: 'Native Bearers Carrying Wounded' on display at PNG NMAG with Andrew Connelly and Anthony Parak
2: The painting removed from the gallery and ready for treatment
3+4: Matteo Volonté during treatment
#InternationalConservationServices #ICS #PaintingConservation
An impressive, framed finish for a 19th/20th century possum pelt rug.🖼️
The rug came in for treatment after freezing for pest management. It was in a poor state, covered with dead moths, larvae, pupae, droppings, eggs and, worryingly, with lots of loose hair after the hair roots had been eaten.
Christina Ritschel, Principal Conservator and Head of Textiles, did a sterling job of treating the blanket before our framing team took over.
To give the rug the protection and surrounding it deserved, Elric Ringstad, Senior Conservation Framer, and his team built a new frame from reclaimed Douglas fir timber – old house trusses given new life as stained frame moulding.
The final work was an impressive 2.6m x 2m and weighed over 60kg 💪
#InternationalConservationServices #ICSSydney #TextileConservation #ConservationFraming #CulturalHeritage
