The Goldcrest Gallery Archive contains original artworks from three generations of one family of artists. These date from the 1950s through to the present day. The earliest works in the collection have been handpainted in designer’s gouache on cartridge paper. One of the challenges for our family archivist/conservator has been to preserve this paper, which contains acid, from becoming brittle and yellow as it ages. Each design is kept in an acid-free plastic pocket and stored carefully in a portfolio. Our portfolios also remain flat, in a stable, dry environment at all times, well away from any sunlight. The designs are handled as seldom as possible.
Repairing the damage
However, some of the artworks in our collection have been damaged in the past. Pieces of some designs are missing, and others have been folded in several places. This has necessitated considerable digital conservation work. Each painting has been scanned and digitised, enabling repairs to the image on screen. In two cases in particular, the original designs have been lost completely: ‘City Rain’ and ‘Wax and Wane’. The only surviving images of these artworks were on a small number of coloured slides from the 1960s. Providentially, after the slides had been professionally digitised, our archivist/conservator was able to retrieve both these lost designs. ‘City Rain‘ and ‘Wax and Wane‘ have now been fully restored digitally. Our A3 fine art prints provide a very accurate facsimile of these once-lost 1950s artworks.
Goldcrest Gallery Archive: Textile Designs
Our textile designs from the 1970s have been created in varied mixed media. Some were silkscreen-printed onto taffeta, calico or silk jersey fabric, and others onto coloured or textured paper. The designer has worked in gouache, watercolour, pencil crayons and fine line marker pens. Occasionally, these artworks were mounted onto cartridge paper using cow gum. This has resulted in staining and discolouration of the design. Nevertheless, these images have now been completely restored digitally by our family archivist/conservator. When printed with pigment inks onto archival paper or 100% cotton canvas, the designs not only look identical to the original, but are far more durable and lightfast.
The Goldcrest Gallery Archive also has artworks in acrylics, and pen & ink on acid-free watercolour paper. These date from the 1980s through to the present day. They include book illustrations, greeting card designs and contemporary fine art. In addition, the Archive contains many photographic works, both contemporary and from the 1960s.