To say the installation of the Worsham-Rockefeller room was a challenge would be an understatement. The VMFA received the room from the Museum of the City of New York as a gift, but the conservators still had to take on the task of installing this mammoth piece. Most of the room is made up of its original pieces. Most of the furniture and all of the wood pieces and wallpaper has been restored to its former 19th century glory. In 2009, the pieces were shipped to Richmond on three tractor trailer trucks. The process of carefully unpacking each item then took place.
It was soon realized that every item was covered in seventy years of New York soot. The first step would be meticulously cleaning every surface that was affected by this kind of damage. A team of conservators spent day after day clearing the paper of soot in tiny sections with q-tips. The wallpaper and ceiling were also treated for flaking paint, tears, and other damages. The other pieces were treated for cracks in wood, protruding old nails, and other imperfections. To actually install the room, plywood walls had to be put up in the American art gallery to create a space for the entire room.
Another issue was the lighting of the room. The room features several lovely windows and window dressings, and the curators wanted to showcase the room in some sort of daylight. The continual exposure to light however, would be harmful to many pieces of the room, especially the wall and ceiling coverings. Thankfully a plan was developed to use LED lights behind the windows to give the illusion of daylight without harming the room.
To view the interview transcript from Deputy Director, Stephen Bonadies, click here.
To view the interview transcript from Curator, Susan Rawles, click here.
Worsham-Rockefeller Bedroom, Conservation, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Worsham-Rockefeller Bedroom, Conservation, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Worsham-Rockefeller Bedroom, Conservation, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Worsham-Rockefeller Bedroom, Conservation, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Worsham-Rockefeller Bedroom, Conservation, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Worsham-Rockefeller Bedroom, Conservation, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Worsham-Rockefeller Bedroom, Conservation, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Worsham-Rockefeller Bedroom, Conservation, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Worsham-Rockefeller Bedroom, Conservation, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Worsham-Rockefeller Bedroom, Conservation, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Worsham-Rockefeller Bedroom, Conservation, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Worsham-Rockefeller Bedroom, Conservation, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Worsham-Rockefeller Bedroom, Conservation, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Worsham-Rockefeller Bedroom, Conservation, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Worsham-Rockefeller Bedroom, Conservation, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Worsham-Rockefeller Bedroom, Conservation, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Slideshow Image Information:
Image 1: Just a few of the pieces out of 72 crates packaged and shipped on three tractor trailer trucks from The Museum of the City of New York to Richmond containing pieces from The Worsham-Rockefeller Bedroom. In the left and right hand corner are the pieces of the painted ceiling canvases, which was packaged individually onto sonotubes (cardboard roles). In the crate, you can see a small section of the fabric headboard installed behind the wood frame of the bed. Each piece came with a very detailed plan and drawing on how to re-install the individual components. Carey Howlett, the founder of F. Carey Howlett and Associates Inc. Conservation of Historic Furniture and Interiors, described the process as “putting together a 3D jigsaw puzzle in which every piece must fit perfectly,” which was particularly difficult as the room is not perfectly square.
Image 2: This reproduction frieze from the 1930’s, which surrounds the wallpaper in the Worsham-Rockefeller bedroom, consists of a repeating pattern of bow-knots, shells, and swags. Upon unpacking the frieze at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, conservators realized how heavily coated with soot and grime both the frieze and the lincrusta wallpaper were. Ensuring that the paint on the frieze would not be damaged in the cleaning process, conservators removed the surface soil and soot using deionized water, which was applied with cotton swabs.
Image 3: Along with removing surface soil and soot from the frieze, conservators also had to restore the paint which covered the molding. This was done by carefully cleaning the painted surfaces with a diluted Aquazol 500 solution with soft cosmetic sponges. Cracks and breaks in the paint on the frieze were fixed by filling in the losses with Flugger Acrylic Modeling Paste. After filling in the cracks, they were toned to match the rest of the painted frieze with gouache.
Image 4: This reproduction frieze from the 1930’s, which surrounds the wallpaper in the Worsham-Rockefeller bedroom, hangs right below the ceiling cornice. This reproduction was also coated with soot and grime (as also mentioned in image 2). Ensuring that the paint on the frieze would not be damaged in the cleaning process, conservators removed the surface soil and soot using deionized water, which was applied with cotton swabs.
Image 5: A closer view of the 2 ½ inch high frieze trim, the minute detail of repeating pattern of shells, swags, and bow-knots becomes very visible.
Image 6: Among the many beautiful entities of the Worsham-Rockefeller Bedroom, the reproduction of the painted ceiling cover from the 1930’s is the piece that required the most attention when conserving. Stephen Bonadies, VMFA’s chief conservator, is shown working on the room. This is the outer, larger section of the ceiling cover. The conservation process for this piece included gently rubbing the surface with soft cosmetic sponges which were dabbed with a diluted solution of Aquazol 500.
Image 7: This is the second, smaller section of the painted ceiling cover which is located in the middle of the ceiling. There is obvious damage and wear on the piece due to the use of the bedroom in everyday life by Arabella and the Rockefellers before it became a historic display. Pictured above is the process used to remove the surface soil and soot with deionized water applied with cotton swabs which took a fair amount of time to complete. The wallpaper and ceiling panels were the first pieces to be conserved as these are the pieces that required the most attention and a very time consuming process to restore.
Image 8: With noticeable progress, associates of the conservator finished the conservation of the canvas ceiling panels using deionized water applied with cotton swabs.
Image 9: A combined view of the conservation processes of the 2 ½ inch high frieze trim and the painted ceiling canvas cover.
Image 10: Along with removing the brown acidic paper from the back of the canvas, flaking paint, paper splits, and tears in the canvas were repaired also by first cleaning with a soft brush in order to remove loose dirt and debris and vulcanized rubber sponges to reduce soot and grime. With the separation of the cloth lining from the wallpaper, Japanese paper was applied to weak, or unattached areas with an adhesive called methylcellulose, just like the frieze. During re-installation of the room, the wallpaper and painted ceiling canvas was installed before the crown molding and decorative trim.
Image 11: The wall-to-wall carpet (a reproduction from the 1930’s) was reassembled in the Marble Hall and then sent out for cleaning. Once the rejoining of the individual pieces of the carpet was completed, it was reinstalled in the Worsham-Rockefeller Bedroom along with the light fixtures.
Image 12: Stephen Bonadies, VMFA deputy director of collections and facilities management alongside former chief curator Sylvia Yount observing the progress of reconstruction of the carpet.
Image 13: Re-installation of the window structure located in the niche across from the bed in the Worsham-Rockefeller Bedroom. The structure includes a large stained glass surround and two decorative panels with openings to display vases on either side.
Image 14: Two window frames inset with glass panels is shown on the back white wall. The green molding is on the ground. Behind the molding is a section of the window structure.
Image 15: Stephen Bonadies shown standing in the inset of the fireplace with another colleague. The ceramic fireplace tiles were soaked in deionized water to loosen the old grout and mortar in order to scrape it off with a scalpel. The broken fireplace tiles were repaired with B-72, also known as Paraloid B-72, which is a thermoplastic resin mainly used for the conservation and restoration of ceramic and glass objects.
Image 16: This gallery was built around the Worsham-Rockefeller Bedroom since it was the most challenging piece to install due to its sheer size. Once the conservation of the pieces was completed, the construction of the room began. However, before construction began, Carey Howlett created life-size templates of the ceiling and wallpaper panels in order to ensure that the measurements for the real room were accurate and would fit properly as one wall was almost three inches longer than its parallel. The walls were then constructed with metal studs allowing for movement if necessary. Only one wall of the bedroom was attached to a permanent gallery wall. The conservation and reconstruction of the Worsham-Rockefeller Bedroom took a little over one year to complete with the exhibit opening to the public on May 1st, 2010.
Explore More:
Story of the Worsham-Rockefeller Bedroom
Inside the Worsham-Rockefeller Bedroom
Conservation of the Worsham-Rockefeller Bedroom
Worsham-Rockefeller Bedroom: Interview with Curator, Susie Rawles
Worsham-Rockefeller Bedroom: Interview with Deputy Directory, Stephen Bonadies