About Us
Sarah Murray Art Restoration and Conservation offers a full range of art conservation and restoration services including:
- Painting/picture restoration
- Oil painting cleaning
- Antiques painting restoration
- Art conservation consultation
- Disaster Recovery – Fire, Flood
- Insurance Assessment and Claims
- Lecture and Workshops
- Framing
Sarah Murray Art Restoration and Conservation’s studio is located in Bay Park near where Highway 8 meets Highway 5. We are also happy to travel to work onsite if necessary when a painting or work of art is too big or fragile to be moved. Just contact us to schedule a free consultation and talk about your art restoration project.
About Sarah Murray, Painting Conservator
Sarah Murray Novak was trained at the Hamilton Kerr Institute, University of Cambridge, England, where she worked on the collections of Cambridge and Oxford University, the Fitzwilliam Museum collection, the Royal Collection at Buckingham Palace, the National Trust of England and Scotland and many other private and public collections. Following with an internship which led to a position of Assistant Paintings Conservator at the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh, Sarah developed the research lab there, studying the materials and methods of Scottish painters in the museum collection, ultimately curating a show entitled ‘Beneath the Surface’.
She has travelled to Italy, Holland and Belgium for field trips to study paintings conservation. Her entry into the US was as Associate Paintings Conservator with the Balboa Art Conservation Center in Balboa Park, where she worked for 10 years. Clients included local San Diego museums, including the San Diego Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art and the Timken Museum, among many others.
Sarah also worked with BACC at museums and collections such as Hearst State Monument, the State Capitol in Sacramento, Laguna Art Museum and many more. In her private practice, which has existed for the past 10 years in San Diego, Sarah has worked with private and corporate clients, institutions, galleries, dealers and artists.
Sarah uses her 28 years of experience and very high ethical standards to inform her work on all kinds of paintings, performing all aspects of art conservation, using only conservation-grade materials. She will work with clients on finding the right approach for treatment to suit their budget, and is always available for inquiries or questions concerning any conservation problem.
Sarah is a member of the Western Association for Art Conservation (WAAC) and the American Institute for Conservation (AIC). She’s also a member of the San Diego Art Services Network www.artservicesnetwork.com, a group of highly qualified art professionals in which I act as art conservation expert.
Our Work Process
Step 1: Please call 619-261-7813 or email me at sarahm@jdewers.com to arrange a consultation. All consultations in the studio are free of charge. A charge for travel and onsite time may be included if the artwork is out of town.
Step 2 : The artwork comes in to my studio. It can be dropped off and left, or the owner may stay for the consultation. I will give the owner a Receipt detailing the objects left and the work to be done.
Step 3: I carry out a full examination of the artwork, doing cleaning tests if necessary to determine the solubility of discolored layers and to determine a way to safely clean or treat the piece. I examine the artwork in different lights, including ultra-violet and under magnification, and prepare a Treatment Proposal with an estimate of cost. I always take the owner’s priorities and budget into account. The Treatment Proposal is emailed or mailed to the owner. I will also email photos of cleaning tests to show the difference varnish removal will take. It may be possible to do a brief exam in the studio at the time of the consultation, and either a ballpark figure or complete estimate written up at that time. I am willing to provide some information from images of damaged art sent by email, if possible and the piece cannot be brought in.
Step 4: Upon receipt of the Treatment Proposal, the client may come in to ask questions, see cleaning tests (which are tiny and done to determine extent of damage or to indicate materials and solubility) or ask questions by email. Once the client is satisfied with the treatment and the estimate, a deposit of 40% is required to schedule the piece for treatment. I always try to accommodate any time request for completion, but a turnaround time of about one month to two months is average for a moderately complex treatment.
Step 5: Once the treatment is underway, I will send updates and photographs during the treatment. All treatments are documented before, during and after.
Step 6: Once the treatment is complete, the owner will receive an email notification, with an attached Treatment Report. The balance of the payment will be due upon picking up the piece.