Cleaning and varnish removal
Careful, tested removal of discoloured varnish and surface dirt, using controlled methods — including agar gel cleaning where appropriate — to reveal the painting beneath without over-cleaning.
Painting restoration in Somerset
Rosalind Whitehouse is an ICON-accredited conservator of paintings (ACR), National Gallery-trained and a Fellow of BAPCR, working from her studio in Frome, Somerset.
After many years working across East Anglia for private and public collections and churches, she is now based in the South West and takes on small and medium-sized projects from her Frome studio — from a single much-loved family portrait to groups of pictures from a collection.
Working across Somerset
From the Frome studio, Rosalind regularly works with clients across Somerset — Bath, Taunton, Wells, Yeovil, Bridgwater and the villages in between. Paintings can be brought to the studio by arrangement, collection and delivery can be organised, and collection visits can be made for larger or fixed works.
Being local matters in conservation: an initial look at a painting, advice on hanging conditions, or a condition check before a sale or move is straightforward when your conservator is in the county rather than a London postcode away.
Services in Somerset
Tears, flaking and structural repair
Tear mending, consolidation of lifting and flaking paint, and repair of canvases and panels, using stable and reversible materials throughout.
Church paintings and hatchments
Somerset churches hold many hatchments, altarpieces and memorial paintings. Rosalind has particular experience with hatchment collections, including conservation, reframing and advice on display.
Surveys and condition reports
Condition reports and collection surveys for insurers, auction houses, churches and private owners — clear documentation of what a painting needs and why.
Discuss a painting in Somerset
Tell Rosalind about your painting — its condition, its history, or simply what worries you about it — and she will advise on the next step. Collection and delivery can be arranged, so your painting need not travel with you.