Priyanka Vaid

So your official title is conservator?

Yes paintings and sculpture conservator.

How many conservators are there?

At Glenbow there are three conservators. We have a paper conservation lab we have a paper conservator who deals with works of art on paper and archival documents. Then we have an objects lab where the objects conservator she works on everything related to ethnology cultural history literary history objects on leather fur metal and everything. I work in the paintings and sculpture lab and I specialize in conservation of paintings. So I work on everything that’s in the art storage — all kinds of paintings whether they’re oil or acrylic on different kinds of supports canvas or wood.

And sculptures as well.

Sculptures as well which are in the art collection. So the objects conservator works on any of the sculptures that are in the cultural history military history or ethnology collection but I work on sculptures that are in the art collection.

What is the training for this? Did you go to art school or is there special training for this?

I think most of the times people think conservators…. If I tell people I’m a painting conservator they think I’m an artist but it’s not necessary that a conservator has to be an artist. I’m not an artist. I have a science background. I did my undergrad in chemistry and then did a master’s in art conservation. So to become a professional conservator you have to get a master’s degree in art conservation in a specific field so I did it in painting conservation. The science background…. From the looks of it it looks like it’s mainly art but I would say 60 to 75 per cent of it involves science. The art part comes at the end. Paintings can suffer from several kinds of damage starting from a darkened varnish to tears in the canvas to paint flacking and all those treatments involve a lot of science. If I have to remove varnish I have to figure out what kind of varnish it is for which I have to do several examinations. And then I know that a specific set of solvents would dissolve these varnishes but then I still have to do testing to see okay which solvent would dissolve this varnish making sure that I don’t dissolve the actual paint underneath. Most of the historical paintings 19th and 20th century paintings have natural resin varnishes on it which tend to get yellow with age… which changes the painting’s colour tones. We want people to see what the artist actually intended.

Would you then put a new varnish on?

Yes. If a painting has varnish and I take it off I would put on a new varnish.

So you have to stay very true to what the artist did?

Yes. There are some ethics of conservation and one of the ethics is that you can’t go beyond artist intention. You are not making the painting. The artist made the painting you’re only helping the painting to age. You’re only helping so people can see it for much longer. You’re only taking care of the painting trying to prolong its life not making something new.

Would every painting at some point need a conservator?

It depends. It depends on environmental conditions. So if a painting has always stayed in a museum setting under a controlled environment it might not need any treatment. Four hundred years the painting would be just fine. The other ethic of conservation is minimum intervention. I would not treat a painting unless I think it’s required. Even for varnish removal I’m using solvents and the painting has been stable with that varnish for the longest time and I’m now doing an intervention using something which is solvent based to clean the varnish. I’m definitely introducing something new to it so I really don’t want to do anything to the painting unless it’s required.

I guess there’s always a risk that something will go wrong.

Yeah. So we have to make really sure. That’s why our first step is a really detailed documentation. You have to document every part of the painting before you start working on it.

So this is not a job for impatient people.

No. You need a lot of patience. Like this painting [points to the large painting in the lab that is pictured] I wouldn’t say I’ve worked on it all the time but yes it took me almost two years to finish the treatment and this treatment still isn’t finished. The problem with this painting it had huge bulges in the canvas because apparently the canvas was not that strong to take the weight of the heavy paint on it. For a painting this size the canvas has to be really strong and it has to be stretched properly so it can take the weight of the paint and the whole system. In this case that wasn’t happening.

Who is the artist for this painting?

It is by an American artist William Bradford. This painting the records say it has something to do with the Belcher Expedition. Belcher was the guy who was sent with five ships to look for Franklin but he was unsuccessful.

You must get to know the stories of the paintings you’re working on quite well.

Yes. I’m not an art historian so I would not know the history but I do try to find out because it also helps. Plus I also want to find out the history of the artist because I want to find out his methods and materials — what kind of paint he used how he applied it because if I don’t know that and just use one technique on all paintings no I would not do that. I have been doing this for the last 15 years and every painting is a challenge. Every painting is different.

There are a few of them up in the lab. Do you work on multiple ones at the same time?

Yes because most of the time I have to give time between treatments. So while I’m doing one painting and it needs to dry then I can go to the other painting and work on that.

It must be non-stop. There’s probably enough paintings in the collection that you’re never bored.

No. I am not. Also I need a change too. If I’m just doing varnish removal — I use the exhaust to take the fumes out and I use a mask because it’s deadly solvents — but I still don’t want to be exposed to solvents for seven-and-a-half hours a day. So I need some change.

How long have you been at the Glenbow?

It will be four years in November.

Were you doing this somewhere else before?

Yes. I was working in Toronto. I worked at the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) and then I worked at the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario) and the McMichael before I came here.

So you’ve been doing this for how many years then?

I started working in 1999. I did my master’s in art conservation from India and I started working there and then in 2007 I moved to Canada.

Is it oil or acrylic that would give you the most trouble?

Acrylics are fairly new so the deterioration and the damage is appearing now. Most of the conservators I would say we have training in oils because oils are very old but acrylics are a new system and they’re very complicated. So I would say to me acrylics are more challenging for the fact that you can’t use any solvents with them. You just dissolve the acrylic paints if you use solvents so you have to make a very juidicious choice of what you use to deal with acrylic paints.

Have you got any dream painting or painter that you would just love to work on?

I would love to work on a Picasso if I get the chance. I’ve been to the Louvre and I looked at Mona Lisa. I don’t know if I want to work… I mean the painting has been worked so many times but I would definitely want to look at it closely like in a lab setting because I am so used to looking at paintings so close that sometimes it’s funny I go to an exhibition and I don’t look at the subject matter I go close and go “oh my god the paint is cracking!” I have to go “I’m not here to look at that I’m here to enjoy the art.” It’s just the job that I do I tend to see more what’s happening in the painting.

You’ll never escape that either.

Yes but I love the job. I’ve always wanted to do it. I love what I do.

Not many people can say that.

It is very satisfying. I love it.

I understand that you’re leading a tour on July 17 at Glenbow? What’s involved?

It’s a behind-the-scenes tour so all the conservators here will be involved. The people who sign up for the tour will come up to the labs and we will each show them our labs and what we do in the labs and show them some of the treatments. We’ll show them some of the details of what we do.

For tickets and info on the tour call 403-268-4110