Conservation

Mystery mural uncovered behind Beverly Hilton rooftop bar

The glass mosaic depicts figures from Classical mythology and was installed when the hotel opened in 1955—but remained hidden behind a wall for decades

London's National Maritime Museum launches campaign to rescue giant decaying tapestry—unseen for decades

Commissioned by Charles II, the work depicts the 1672 Battle of Solebay between the English and Dutch in which the 1st Earl of Sandwich drowned

Van Gogh gets a facelift: conservation of self-portrait to be revealed in London

The Kröller-Müller Museum painting will be unveiled in the Courtauld Gallery’s exhibition

a blog by Martin Bailey

Rijksmuseum discovers 'the genesis' of Rembrandt’s Night Watch

Original sketch has been revealed beneath the paint, shedding light on the Dutch master's intention—but worrying deterioration of the famous picture has also been found

Fragonard’s The Swing has been restored—and it's saucier than ever

The great Rococo painting in the Wallace Collection in London has been cleaned, revealing some mischievous details

Progressive scientists, or high-flying elitists? The Met unlocks a secret behind a famous Jacques-Louis David portrait

Scientific testing reveals that the artist radically changed his depiction of a Paris couple in a landmark 1788 painting

Afghanistananalysis

Afghanistan: the historical sites of key concern after the Taliban's return

From the Bamiyan Valley to an ancient spiritual centre of Zoroastrianism and Buddhism, former Unesco senior official Francesco Bandarin looks at the embattled country’s most important landmarks

Heritagecomment

With the Taliban’s take-over of Afghanistan, intangible cultural heritage is most at threat

The music, poetry, traditions and crafts that are kept alive by communities are especially vulnerable under the group’s ultra-conservative rule and the economic chaos of continuing conflict

Your carriage awaits: Beekman Family Coach undergoes live conservation at the New-York Historical Society

Research on the historic piece of decorative art has revealed some surprising evidence that many of its original materials are intact

John Singleton Copley double portrait lovingly restored, pock marks and all

So-called imperfections laid bare at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Twelve down, one to go: epic restoration of 16th-century, English tapestries nears completion after 20 years

Conservation of the panels—bought by Elizabethan noblewoman Bess of Hardwick—has been National Trust's "most lengthy and expensive textile project"

Is Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci? Amid the current flurry of ill-informed controversies, let us turn to the science

Can the leaked Louvre book give us the final word on the much-maligned painting that we all need?

Why do some Picasso paintings deteriorate faster than others? Researchers have solved the mystery

A three-year research project looked at the materials in four works from the same period to explain their differing conditions

Bavarian frescoes are confirmed to be among the oldest in northern Europe

New examinations of John the Baptist wall paintings in Augsburg cathedral date them to more than 1,000 years ago

Thanks to a £3m gift, the National Trust could finally uncover a secret portrait of Mary Queen of Scots

Conservation boost from a US charity comes after the heritage organisation faced a £200m revenue collapse due to the pandemic

Pew! Sussex church may scrap plans to remove historic seating

Moves by parishes to replace pews with chairs for “flexibility” anger traditionalists

Obituariesfeature

Remembering Lindy Dufferin, artist and entrepreneur who used her Northern Ireland home as a centre of community and cultural exchange

A student of Duncan Grant and Oskar Kokoschka whose Clandeboye Yoghurt pictures made her the world’s “most famous disposable artist”

The potato head of Palencia: defaced Spanish statue latest victim of botched restoration

Conservation professionals have questioned why Spain's heritage is continually handed over to those with no formal training

Getty announces internship programme to counter lack of diversity among art conservators

Noting barriers to students of colour, it establishes yearlong training stints with $30,000 grants

Turkish government on collision course with Unesco over turning Hagia Sophia into mosque

President Erdogan’s plans to convert the museum have drawn fire from Greece and the US

Furniture restorer disfigures Murillo’s 17th-century Virgin Mary—and charges owner €1,200

Spain’s art conservation community say the country needs to better regulate the industry

Getty Conservation Institute helps museums rethink stringent guidelines on conservation

New initiative helps institutions move towards a more tailored and sustainable approach to maintaining collection environments

Notre Dame's construction site to reopen next week

A team will enter the Paris cathedral site on Monday to make arrangements for around 50 construction workers to return from early May

New secrets of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring to be revealed online next week

Mauritshuis museum's detailed technical examination uncovers new findings on the Dutch artist's brushwork, pigments and technique

V&A’s rare Frank Lloyd Wright interior is spruced up after years in storage

One of the museum’s finest period rooms, the Kaufmann Office is being restored for display in new V&A East collection centre

Glasgow School of Art will be back as a 'working art school' but restoration is mired in delays

Almost two years after fire ravaged the Mackintosh building, debate intensifies over future plans for the site

Important underdrawings in 15th-century nativity triptych revealed in time for Easter

Restoration on the Bellini workshop piece at Venice studio was halted by coronavirus outbreak

More than 40 UK museums and conservators donate personal protective equipment to help NHS fight coronavirus

Conservation departments are sending gloves, masks and Tyvek suits to hospitals and ambulance services

Notre Dame reconstruction halted because of stringent coronavirus measures

Plans to remove the scaffolding around the fire-damaged cathedral have been put on hold