RECENT PROJECTS

In the first half of 2019, Peter Paul Biro examined and helped to authenticate a Whistler Nocturne painting for its private owners and the University of Oregon’s Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, to which it was loaned.

An oil on canvas painting measuring 30.6 cm x 25.6 cm, Peter Paul Biro used a variety of scientific techniques to analyze both the material composition and artistic technique of the painting. The results satisfied the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of the painting’s authenticity. This past June it was hung, identified as a Whistler Nocturne painted in 1881, in one of the museum’s main galleries, next to a Monet painting of Charing Cross Bridge (please see photos).

Note: Conservation presentation above with the permission of the owner of this 1881 painting by James Whistler.

Research conducted by: Peter Paul Biro Fine Art Conservation, Restoration & Forensic Studies in Art, Québec, Canada

In April 2013, Peter Paul Biro conducted a day-long, detailed condition examination of the oil on canvas painting, Lady with Parasol. Widely attributed to Whistler, the painting had long hung in the Butler Institute of American Art, in Youngstown, Ohio. Present at the examination was Dr. Louis A. Zona, Director and Chief Curator of the Butler Institute and two staff members. Before it was at the Butler Institute, the painting was part of a well established California art collection.

The painting has been owned by the same family for the past 70 years. A November 27, 1949 auction advertisement in the Los Angeles Times documents the sale of the painting at that time (see button below).

Founded in 1919, the Butler Institute is the first museum solely dedicated to exhibiting and preserving the work of American artists. Over the last 100 years, its collection has grown to encompass over 22,000 works by American artists such as Winslow Homer, James McNeill Whistler, Norman Rockwell, Albert Bierstadt, Mary Cassatt, Childe Hassam and William Merritt Chase, many of them masterpieces.

Peter Paul Biro’s 2013 examination was aimed at evaluating the painting’s physical condition and conservation history. In the examination, numerous high resolution photographs were taken. The painting was viewed by Peter Paul Biro under direct light and by using the ultraviolet fluorescence technique.

Importantly, the examination determined that the painting had been cut down in size on all four sides of the canvas. The painting seems to have been of some age before it was cut down. Intriguingly, the frame that surrounds the painting was also cut down in size. Analysis again suggests that it was already of significant age when it was cut.

A copy of Peter Paul Biro’s examination report can be found here.

Recently, Peter Paul Biro was asked by the owner of Lady with a Parasol to conduct a detailed forensic examination of the painting. This work is currently being done at Peter Paul Biro’s studio. The painting will also be cleaned by Peter Paul Biro.

Research conducted by: Peter Paul Biro Fine Art Conservation, Restoration & Forensic Studies in Art, Québec, Canada