The Ringling will unveil a series of four, early 20th-century, large-scale circus banners Nov. 7, 2014- March 29, 2015 in the Museum of Art.
The banners are only now able to be displayed following a comprehensive, seven-year conservation process, spearheaded by Barbara Ramsay, Ringling Chief Conservator and formerly of ARTEX Conservation Laboratory in Washington D.C.
Created by Belgian designer and artist Frans De Vos, the 9 x 9.5-ft banners once adorned circus entrances or served as colorful stage backdrops, and they are now a part of Howard Tibbals’ comprehensive circus collection.
The unique collection of banners had suffered severe damage over the course of their approximately 100-year lifetime, and Tibbals selected ARTEX to carry out, between 2005 and 2012, the conservation process. Ramsay and a team of conservators were able to restore the banners, which Tibbals acquired in 1989 through careful analysis, documentation, and treatment of the fragile canvas.
In an ambitious effort to see Tibbals’ heroic gesture to completion, Ramsay and her ARTEX team reduced the aesthetic and structural damage caused by a lifetime of wear while retaining some signs of age and history, successfully returning the banners to a state stable enough for public display. Highlights of the conservation project include:
- Stabilization of delicate paint layers and the integrity of the canvas structure;
- Removal of marks, grime layers, stains, and patches from past, misguided restoration efforts;
- Repair of tears and deformations; and
- Infilling and in-painting along marked areas of paint loss.
Following this complex conservation effort, the De Vos banners will re-debut to the public newly restored—marking the first time in decades that visitors can experience these rare works of art in a condition so close to their original.
