March is Women’s Month – a time when we celebrate women, and for us, we would like to celebrate all of the incredible women in the Historic Preservation field. We are lucky to have many strong women on our team, whether in the field or the office. We have had so many talented women on our project sites over the years, working on projects that include mural and artwork conservation, woodwork restoration, stone cleaning, plaster conservation, custom art creation, and more. Our company is also proud to have a team of hardworking women leaders, including two daughters of the founder of our company, Dorothea Canning-Hennessey, who is one of the principals and a powerhouse behind the company along with Jacqueline Canning Riccio, our Studio Design Director. In addition, we have a dynamic, intelligent team of women supporting the day-to-day operations as directors, project managers, administrators, and coordinators.
Women at Canning perform essential roles in our restoration projects, completing jobs like stenciling, conservation cleaning, art restoration, budgeting & planning, and numerous other efforts crucial to the success of our company. The projects pictured above include our restoration of the Overmyer Murals at Kansas State University’s Hale Library, mural protection and conservation at the Lyon County Courthouse, and woodwork cleaning and restoration at Yale University’s Sterling Memorial Library.
As part of our project at the Hale Library, we completed a full conservation of four murals by artist David Overmyer. The murals were painted circa 1934 but were damaged due to a fire in the library in 2018. The murals, titled “Science & Industry,” “Agriculture,” Arts,” and “Home,” depict areas of study at the university. Our conservators stabilized, cleaned, and restored the murals, with each mural receiving a customized conservation treatment based on its existing condition.
At the Lyon County Courthouse, our team removed and restored four murals with scenes depicting historically significant events to the settlement of Iowa by artist William Peaco. Our mural restoration work was completed in our home studio, where our conservators assessed and documented the conditions of the murals, then restored each mural, including conservation inpainting where needed. The four murals were then carefully transported back to Iowa, where they were reinstated in the rotunda.
We have completed many projects at Yale University over the years, but our project at Sterling Memorial Library was undoubtedly one of the most memorable. During our project, our team researched and restored the decorative finishes, plaster, and woodwork, as seen above. Conservation cleaning took place on nearly all finishes throughout the library, including the coffered barrel vault ceiling. The ceiling required a unique treatment using rottenstone, as specified by the original designer, James Gamble Rogers, who left notes on how the building should be restored. Rogers’ original design was meant to make the library feel older than it is, and to maintain this sense of history, the restoration followed his detailed instructions.
To read more about our company, its leadership, and the projects mentioned above, visit the links below. We are proud and grateful to have hardworking women as part of our teams during preservation projects and continue to support anyone interested in becoming a part of the preservation community. |
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Latest Articles & Announcements |
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| 10 Tips for Maintaining Historic Churches & Chapels |
Variables in the structure of historic churches and chapels, such as materials and age, will inform you how and where to focus your attention when maintaining or restoring the building. Sensitivity to architecturally detailed maintenance will lead to a healthy sense of community and respectful worship. The need to retain a sense of respect and divinity is why it is imperative to be aware of the proper maintenance methods for historic religious buildings. Our most recent blog discusses ten tips for maintaining and enhancing the overall beauty and resilience of a historic church or chapel.
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| The Importance of Paint Restoration for Your Historic Building |
Historic buildings are an essential part of our cultural heritage and serve as symbols of the history and culture of a place. They also provide economic benefits by attracting tourists and investors, enhancing the image of the community, and contributing to the local economy. However, preserving these buildings can be a challenge, as they require special care and attention to maintain their historical significance and aesthetic appeal. One of the critical aspects of maintaining the historical value of a building is paint restoration. This blog discusses the importance of paint restoration for historic buildings, including the process and benefits.
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With this month's focus on women in preservation, we wanted out first company spotlight to be on Jacqueline Canning Riccio, a decorative arts leader in our company. Jackie became interested in the decorative arts at a young age and wanted to follow in her father, John Canning’s footsteps. Jackie learned decorative arts from her father and through an apprenticeship for ornamental painting and decorating established by John Canning in Connecticut. She is skilled in all elements of the decorative arts, including graining, marbling, stenciling, glazing, trompe l’oeil, and gilding. With over 30 years of experience in the field of historic paint decoration, Jacqueline is a vital component in ensuring our goal of perfecting preservation. Jackie is a talented decorative artist who has been critical to the success of many projects over the years. Today, Jackie is our Studio Design Director and is responsible for quality control of all decoration and patterns produced in the studio for on-site installations. Jackie also heads up the studio's custom wallpaper manufacturing, working in various period styles from Egyptian to Victorian to Art Deco. To read more about Jackie's story, visit our website, linked here.
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The American Institute for Conservation (AIC) will be holding its 51st annual meeting in Jacksonville, Florida this year from May 16th-20th. This year’s theme is “Conservation in the Age of Environmental, Social, and Economic Climate Change” and will cover how preservationists and conservationists can make the field more sustainable, discuss protection methods for sites and collections during times of climate change, and explore how the field can support transformative social movements. The conference will include workshops, tours, and seminars, and is a wonderful way to learn about the growing field of preservation and expand your network of conservation professionals. To register, visit the AIC website, linked here.
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This month we are celebrating famed architect Thomas S. Hasting’s birthday. Hastings was born on March 11th, 1860, in New York City. He went on to join with architect John Merven Carrere to create Carrere and Hastings, one of the most prominent American Beaux-Arts architecture firms. The firm designed and built the Cosmos Club, originally known as the Townsend House, for Mary Scott Townsend circa 1901. The stunning Beaux-Arts building later became a part of the Cosmos Club, as it remains to this day. Canning scheduled all trades and performed specialty contracting to conserve and restore the fine-art murals, ornamental plaster, gilding, decorative finishes, and the parquet floor in the ornately decorative Cosmos Club ballroom. The project was a great success, finishing six weeks early and allowing the club to secure additional income through the ballroom’s rental earlier than expected and also went on to receive the 2017 District of Columbia Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation. Following the ballroom restoration we were brought back to work on the restoration of the Cosmo Club lobby.To learn more about our comprehensive restoration projects at the Cosmos Club, visit our website linked here.
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The League of Historic American Theatres (LHAT) is hosting a regional spring conference on April 19th & 20th at the historic Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. This year’s focus is on historic theatre best practices and will include educational sessions led by leaders in the field of historic theatre restoration, as well as theatre fundraising and operations. The conference will also include time for networking and a tour of the Fox Theatre. Our team has done restoration work at the Fox Theatre, including plaster consolidation in the lobby and conservation cleaning and restoration of the canopy in the Arabian courtyard inspired auditorium. This space is truly unique, and this conference is an excellent opportunity to see this landmark theatre and our restoration work in person. To learn more about the conference, including how to register, visit the conference website here.
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In case you missed it, Retrofit Magazine featured the incredible restoration project by Robert A.M. Stern Architects at Yale University’s Schwarzman Center in an article this past September. The Canning team worked on this project as consultants for the conservation cleaning of the historic stone and woodwork. We completed large-scale mockups, then went on to clean and restore these historical finishes. The article discusses the history of the building and the careful attention to historical details that were undertaken to ensure that the modern methods and materials used to preserve the building’s history would not alter its historic integrity. To read more about the project, including a list of all contractors and companies that worked on this incredible preservation project, check out the article linked here.
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Interested in seeing more of our work? Follow us on TikTok! |
Have you followed our TikTok yet? Come see our work in motion on our TikTok account. We post new videos every week and feature several of our different trades in action. Follow along at the link below. |
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We understand the importance in sharing our expertise and knowledge in our field. Besides the monthly newsletter and blogs we post, we also develop and share downloadable resources to help guide you in your conservation, preservation and restoration projects. Check out the Resources page and see if any of the resources can help answer some of your questions and provide a better understanding of some of the intricacies in the preservation field.
Check out our Featured Downloadable Resource below.
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When working in a historic building or embarking on a preservation project, we are often tasked with the question: what do we have? Many historical buildings uniquely express themselves with their interior paint finishes. When looking at the history of the building or space, there may be a reason to look beneath the surface. This month's featured downloadable resource is our Historic Paint Identification Guide, which builds on the theme from our recent blog about the importance of paint restoration in historic buildings. This guide will help you identify whether investigating further is something to consider for your project and how to determine the significance of the finishes.
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As a national nonprofit preservation organization, the National Trust for Historic Preservation works to save America's historic places and is a great resource for anyone looking to learn more or get involved. |
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The American Institute for Conservation and the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation work together to promote the preservation and protection of cultural heritage. Partner with us to further that mission. |
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JOIN THE CONVERSATION #PerfectingPreservation #jcanningcrew |
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