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Plaster Maquettes
Condition
The maquettes have previously been in FE McWilliam's artist studio. The fluctuating environment has resulted in corrosion of the internal metal armatures causing staining to the body. Inappropriate storage has caused some of the plaster to crack and detach.
In 2011, I carried out a large survey of all the plaster maquettes, rating them to allow the curator to prioritise which maquettes needed urgent conservation to stabilise those in poorest condition
Remedial Conservation
A rolling annual programme began in 2011, whereby through discussion with the curator we chose 3-4 maquettes in most urgent need of conservation. Once these were conserved, we turned our attention to those that looked aesthetically unpleasing, or those that spoke to larger bronzes, that would be displayed in ongoing exhibitions .
Removed to the workshop, treatment involved dry brushing, swab cleaning, removal of stains, consolidation, filling and retouching as original
The F.E. McWilliam Gallery and Studio is dedicated to the memory of sculptor Frederick Edward McWilliam, one of Ireland’s most influential and successful artists. He was born in Banbridge on the 30th April 1909. He died in London in 1992 and the executors of his estate donated the sculptor’s studio and its contents to the town of his birth.
Claire Magill Conservation has been preserving the plaster maquettes at the FE McWilliam Gallery since 2014. These delicate sculptures, constructed quickly using wire metal armatures to achieve shape and form, and applied plaster to create dynamic sculptures that would inform larger bronzes.
