Balboa Art Conservation Center

A great accomplishment! Happy to be a part of Balboa Park.

We love conserving, repairing, examining, and protecting art and cultural heritage, and we think that you do, too. That's why we've made it easy to support our work with a recurring donation. Easy to set up, easy to change when needed ... it's a sweet thing to do this season to show your love of the arts. Donate here: www.bacc.org/donate.html

Frame #flashbackfriday ! Swipe through to see the before and after of this amazing treatment by BACC's team. ... When this frame came to BACC (a few years ago now) it was in approximately 16 pieces. Ornamentation was separated, split, broken, and shattered throughout the frame. There was missing and unstable gesso and gilding and all of the miters were split and detached. There was also evidence of past restorations scattered throughout the frame (i.e. the 3 restored orn...aments, old repaired splits, overpainted nail heads and mismatched gilding and toning). To treat this artwork the insecure gesso was consolidated first. The miters were trimmed, and both the miters and broken pieces reattached. A structural support was fabricated, attached, and toned. Losses were filled, gilded, and toned. Finally, the painting and frame were married and returned for display. See more

Three new trustees have joined BACC's board in 2021. These individuals believe in BACC's mission and their expertise supports critical and varied elements of our governance structure. Their background and skills complement a team of staff and board members with deep experience in the arts. Please join us in welcoming: *Autumn Dobbins Dobbins has enjoyed a rich career in the areas of learning and development, human resources, diversity and inclusion, and organizational develop...ment and currently serves as the Organizational Development Manager at Rady Children’s Hospital. *Whitney Drechsler, Esq., CFP After receiving her law degree and working for 5 years as an attorney, Drechsler transferred her skills to the realm of finance where she has been since 2015, including her current role as Vice President, Wealth Planner at U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management. *Kristen Mihalko Mihalko is the Director of Operations at the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership where she implements programs and offers engagement opportunities that broaden and deepen the Balboa Park experience for all. We are also thrilled to welcome back Kate Butler, Tom Callas, Timothy L. Campbell, Karen Coutts, Jeff Dunigan, Dana Springs, Julie Schaffran, and Mary Whelan. Check out bacc.org/board.html to learn more about BACC's board. #balboaartconservationcenter #governance #boardoftrustees

Happening today at 12pm PT on @areason2survive 's Instagram Live! Join A Reason To Survive (ARTS) and our very own Bianca Garcia, Assistant Conservator of Paintings, for Arts4Lunch. Arts4Lunch is hosted by A Reason to Survive and features community conservations at the intersection of creativity and care.

Happening tomorrow (10/20) at 12 noon Pacific Time. Tune in on Instagram Live.

"... And miles [of tape] to go before I sleep ..." Might this be what was running through Alexis' mind while being cross-trained by our paper conservator, Sara, on how to remove lots and lots of masking tape from the back of this piece? #balboaartconservationcenter #artconservation #crosstraining #nehgrant

Artists! Our friends at Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture are offering a FREE series just for you. Register to hear from professional art conservators as they share their knowledge about how to plan for the long-term care of your artwork in a variety of contexts. Over seven different sessions, presenters will cover both general and medium specific information, and best practices that will help you mitigate risks while maintaining your original artistic intent. More info:

We're not sure what is sweeter, our newest recurring gift, or that it came in with this lovely note! A recurring gift is a donation made by a donor on a repeating basis. In this case, the donor set up a monthly recurring gift as she finds it easier to plan with a donation that is spread out across the year, rather than giving a larger gift in one lump sum. Monthly, quarterly, or even annually recurring donations are an incredible (and easy) way to show your support of BACC's ...important work to preserve cultural heritage. If you'd like to set up a recurring gift go to this link: https://www.bacc.org/donate.html #balboaartconservationcenter #artconservation #grateful

Our friends at the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture are offering this incredible FREE series "Arts Tune Up: Preservation Tips for Artists." Join professional art conservators from across the field as they share their knowledge about how to plan for the long-term care of your artwork in a variety of contexts. Over seven different sessions, presenters will cover both general and medium specific information, and best practices that will help you mitigate risks w...hile maintaining your original artistic intent. Happening Wednesday, October 21, 9:00 AM to Friday, October 23, 2:00 PM This event is free, but registration is required.

Psst: If you use Amazon and are shopping their Prime Day, remember to login via the smile.amazon.com portal and choose Balboa Art Conservation Center as your recipient.

A few days ago our Assistant Conservator of Paintings, Bianca Garcia, learned more about paper conservation techniques like testing watercolor for solubility and splitting backing board as part of our National Endowment for the Humanities CARES Act grant. Cross-training core staff will both develop and fine-tune our team’s capacity to respond to fluctuations in project workflow, and ensure that staff have work during this unpredictable time.

BACC’s Assistant Conservator of Paintings Morgan Wylder has received the Professional Associate designation from the American Institute for Conservation! Learn more about what is involved in obtaining this designation and why it's so important to the field by following the link:

"Stout Hearted: George Stout and the Guardians of Art" screens until Oct. 11 at the 2020 Arkhaios Film Festival - Virtual Edition. The documentary film features one of BACC's founders, George Stout, who was also a pioneer in the filed of art conservation and leader of the Monuments Men, a special task force unit of WW2 responsible for recovering over five million pieces of art that had been stolen by the Nazis. Watch at this link: https://watch.eventive.org/arkha//5f60beb5ed263d0098d3ce2f

You never know what you might find in drawers at a decades old art conservation center. In this case, it was a cute pig drawing we had to share. This was drawn by a wee one who is very likely grown up by now. #balboartconservationcenter #flashbackfriday #oink

We're a little late to the party, but Monday was proclaimed George Stout day in Winterset, IA. Stout was one of BACC's founders and a hugely important figure in the field of art conservation.