Adopt a Work of Art: Roe Deer in the Snow

Conservation at the Ackland

A very special thank you to Carol McNeel for being the first to support the program and adopt Roe Deer in the Snow by Courbet.

Courbet’s forest view is a beautiful example of French Realist landscape paintings. Unfortunately, a very old and discolored natural resin varnish makes this picture appear darker overall than the artist intended. The varnish is also cracked and discontinuous, which gives a hazy appearance to dark areas. This homogenization of the artist’s palette diminishes contras and thwarts the visual recession of the landscape. Also, old retouches are becoming visible and older varnish residues that clog thinly painted passages give the painting a gritty appearance. The quality of the light is severely compromised, as is the artist’s beautiful brushwork. Cleaning tests suggest that this paintings appearance would could be dramatically improved by removal of the old varnish.

The cost of conserving this painting is estimated at $4500. The appearance of the painting would also benefit greatly from being re-framed in an esthetically appropriate frame.

Gustave Courbet, French, 1819 – 1877: Roe Deer in the Snow, 1868, oil on canvas.

Adopt a Work of Art

In January 2007, the Ackland launched a new program to fund top priority conservation treatments. Adopt a Work of Art gives individuals and groups the opportunity to sponsor the treatment of an individual work of art. The sponsor of a treatment has the fascinating opportunity to follow its progress through written reports, photos, and, in some cases, lab visits. When the conserved work returns to the gallery, the sponsor will be acknowledged in the wall label whenever the work is displayed in the Ackland Galleries.

Contact Ackland conservator Lyn Koehnline (843-3680; koehnlin@email.unc.edu) for further information about the program.

Find out more details of the works and their needed treatments by clicking on the respective image.

Current Works Awaiting Sponsorship

 

Current Sponsorships

A very special thank you to Carol McNeel for being the first to support the program and adopt Roe Deer in the Snow by Courbet.

Special thanks to every member of the Ackland Art Museum Guild for their adoption of Head of a Model by Bonnat.

Past Sponsorships