Woodworm-Infested Frame
Posted: Thu 29 Nov, 2007 6:03 pm
Hello all,
One of my customers came in today with a stretched original oil on canvas which she had originally bought framed from a gallery about a year ago. It transpired that the frame had been infested with woodworm. The customer removed the frame and brought it in to get the work reframed.
Needless to say, I was automatically concerned about the status of the stretcher bars, and inspection revealed two suspicious-looking holes in one of the bars.
What would be the best way to proceed with this job? I would assume that the canvas should be restretched on new bars, but would the canvas need any treatment as a result of the infestation prior to reframing?
Secondly, the artist has painted over the staples on the sides of the stretcher. Could the removal of the staples on the sides of the stretcher bars devalue the work?
Thirdly, my customer advised that there is no evidence of any woodworm in her own home that could have caused the infestation in the frame. Would she have any recourse back to the gallery who sold her the artwork to recoup costs for treatment/reframing?
One of my customers came in today with a stretched original oil on canvas which she had originally bought framed from a gallery about a year ago. It transpired that the frame had been infested with woodworm. The customer removed the frame and brought it in to get the work reframed.
Needless to say, I was automatically concerned about the status of the stretcher bars, and inspection revealed two suspicious-looking holes in one of the bars.
What would be the best way to proceed with this job? I would assume that the canvas should be restretched on new bars, but would the canvas need any treatment as a result of the infestation prior to reframing?
Secondly, the artist has painted over the staples on the sides of the stretcher. Could the removal of the staples on the sides of the stretcher bars devalue the work?
Thirdly, my customer advised that there is no evidence of any woodworm in her own home that could have caused the infestation in the frame. Would she have any recourse back to the gallery who sold her the artwork to recoup costs for treatment/reframing?