The paper conservation laboratory at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (the de Young and the Legion of Honor museums) oversees the preservation and treatment of a vast collection of prints, drawings, and photographs. To protect art for future generations, conservators restore damaged art and take precautions to prevent decay. The following budget, by conservators Victoria Binder and Debra Evans, details the cost of restoring one print for the museums.

The Falls of Eternal Despair is a rare chromolithograph from 1892. Chromolithographs were an early form of commercial color prints in which multiple smooth stones were used to stamp a full range of colors on paper. This chromolithograph was printed in Cincinnati by the Publishing House for Holiness Literature, the brainchild of Methodist minister Martin Wells Knapp. It arrived at the paper conservation laboratory in a state of extreme deterioration. The paper was discolored, stained, and brittle, with numerous losses and breaks.

Despite its nearly irretrievable state, something about the print’s peculiar depiction of a bizarre moral landscape captivated conservators Binder and Evans, and they decided to repair it. This budget is presented in two sections: materials and labor. As one can see from the list of expenses, the materials used for treatment are fairly affordable. The expertise of the art conservators, however, is a scarce resource. Conservation efforts can vary in scope and complexity, depending on the damage. This was a complex treatment.

This is an installment of Creative Accounting, an ongoing series that explains where the money goes for projects in the major creative industries. Very soon the series will be collected into a single, indispensable volume, published by Believer Books.

—Christopher Benz, Victoria Binder, and Debra Evans

 Restoration, The Falls of Eternal Despair

$1,308.16

Victoria Binder and Debra Evans in the laboratory, from top: immersing print in a water bath, lining artwork with
kozo paper, and inpainting areas of loss. Photographs courtesy of the Legion of Honor paper conservation laboratory.

Materials $167.26

Cleaning/Prep $85.18

Grated Vinyl Eraser, 1oz $1.62

As a first step to treatment, this is used to pick up surface grime.

Extra Heavyweight Blotting Papers, 100% cotton (x4) $67.32

Damp blotters are used in the first step of bathing a fragile artwork. Later, in the last step of flattening the page, conservators use dry ones.

Deionized, Calcified Water $0

Tap water is run through a deionizing system and then over calcium chips to make it suitable for bathing artwork. After blotting, conservators immerse the print in a full bath.

Hydrogen Peroxide, 30% solution, reagent grade, 5ml $12.64

After bathing, a local application of a pure grade of hydrogen peroxide bleaching solution reduces the...