Mosman Municipal Council, New South Wales, Art Gallery staff worked alongside professional conservators as part of a special project to preserve key items from the renowned Mosman Art Collection.
The major conservation works resulted in the treatment of 110 items to ensure the significant artworks were preserved for future generations.
Gallery staff and project partners International Conservation Services (ICS) turned the gallery into an on-site pop-up conservation studio to carry out the delicate work over five days in November 2020.
Outstanding artworks from the Balnaves Gift collection, historical pieces from the Cowlishaw Collection and winning works from the Mosman Art Prize were among those treated.
More conservation work is planned to further safeguard the collection with 40 artworks identified as requiring more in-depth conservation treatment at the ICS lab over coming months.
Mosman Mayor, Carolyn Corrigan, said, “The Mosman Art Collection is one of the most important art collections held by local government in Australia, with some of our most treasured Australian impressionist, modernist and contemporary artworks by Grace Cossington-Smith, Margaret Olley and Tracey Moffatt among others, so it’s wonderful to see this vital conservation work being carried out.”
The conservation review followed a successful 12 month ‘Hunters and Collectors’ fundraising campaign by Mosman Art Gallery which raised more than $110,000 for the development and care of the gallery’s much-loved collections.
