Ian Primrose
Photo © Mark Chester
About Ian Primrose
I am a specialist with over forty years experience conserving and restoring oil paintings from all periods. I offer everything from light surface cleanings and small repairs to involved and complex restorations, requiring the removal of layers of old varnish and grime, reversal of old restorations, consolidation of flaking paint layers and the repairing of torn canvas. Each phase of the restoration project is documented with high-quality digital imaging, and I also provide detailed condition appraisals and treatment reports.
Originally from London, England, I obtained my Fine Arts degree in 1978, then interned with the paintings conservation department of the City of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. Apprenticeships followed, with conservator-restorers, in private practice, in London. I then set up my own studio, conserving and restoring oil paintings for the London art trade. My clients were art dealers who traded in paintings from the medieval through modern periods.
Now living on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, I am the contract restorer for the Martha’s Vineyard Museum (see page from MVM web site). I also serve the needs of private art collectors and members of the public. In keeping with ethical conservation standards, reversibility of materials is fundamental to my practice, with a focus on minimal intervention wherever possible.
Member of:
American Institute for Conservation (AIC)
International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (IIC)