Stepping into an artist’s studio—whether preserved by a foundation since their passing or still actively generating artwork at the hands of a living artist—is an illuminating experience for any visitor. But for conservators, these spaces contain a trove of insights that inform the long-term care of the artworks produced within them. Personal collections of stones and shells, maquettes, carving tools, commercially prepared paint samples, or test plates left to change over time impart clues as to how to best care for an artwork.
The permanently installed or seemingly frozen studio spaces of deceased artists present a special challenge for conservators, archivists, or collection managers, as they care for anything from finished works to notebook sketches, overall conveying a feeling that the artist has just left the working space. Finished works in particular may be presented in their ideal conservation condition and method of display, becoming an excellent resource when researching the treatment of a similar example.
During a recent visit to the Henry Moore Studios & Gardens, located near the rural hamlet of Much Hadham, north of London, I was struck by seeing the objects that Moore lived with every day. On a tour of his home, the guide made sure to introduce a collection of things found in a crush on every surface. From glass baubles and flint stones to various shells and artifacts Moore collected from other cultures, he maximized his surfaces for his pleasure and consideration. After visiting the Bourne Maquette Studio, deeper into the property, I came to learn just how these treasures informed Moore’s work. He made innumerable miniatures of his realized sculptures, formed out of flint stones and plasticine. These bones and stones not only served as inspiration but were often assembled as stylized precursors later developed and cast in bronze.
The similarly bucolic Trewyn Studio, Barbara Hepworth’s home and studios in St Ives on the Cornish coast of England, has been cared for by Tate since 1980, following the artist’s death, in 1975. It remains representative of the artist’s preferences for display and treatment of her outdoor sculpture, achieving an elegant presentation of her living and working spaces, complete with an array of her tools. I visited Trewyn Studio with the Tate conservation team in 2018 to assist with their routine maintenance of the outdoor sculpture. It was then that I learned of the careful restoration that was performed on the monumental bronze Four-Square (Walk Through) (1966) in 2017. With the surfaces refreshed, the tool marks carried from the original plaster to the final bronze were more discernible and easily compared with the very tools on display. Treatments such as this establish a benchmark for conservation professionals charged with interpreting a faded patina or the hidden signs of the artist’s hand.
While interning at the Judd Foundation in Marfa, Texas, I recall perusing paint swatches from Harley-Davidson retained in the archives. When conservators at the Whitney Museum of American Art discovered that one of their Donald Judd works, Untitled (1965), was painted in “HDHF Purple,” for Harley-Davidson Hi-Fi Purple, this enabled them to confidently repaint their work with a similar color formula to closely match the original. The swatches in the archives are not necessarily accessed for direct color-matching, however, as paint formulas change, retaining them as a reference can help steer conservation decision-making.
In contrast to preserved studios, there is the ongoing ingenuity of a bustling studio such as Antony Gormley’s. I recently enjoyed a tour of the spaces and projects underway in his lofty, light-filled workshop in London. Gormley and his studio team have been carrying out a series of tests on different materials used by the artist, including lead and cast iron, that push metal surfaces in exciting directions. These experiments serve to inform the artist and fabricators of potential surface treatments, protective coatings, and display parameters. They also become valuable examples of future material challenges that those charged with preserving these artworks may encounter. Working with conservators, the studio has been exploring methods of treating Gormley’s many sculptures made of lead, a collaboration that is mutually beneficial as discoveries are made.
For those of us working to preserve both the tangible and intangible elements an artist calls a final work, the studio space can be both a repository of reference material and an enchanting look into the working life of a creator. While paint samples and test plates can offer verified answers during a conservation project, there is value in sitting in the space that an artist once occupied, or in walking the path they traveled from home to studio. Conservators collect data and material specifications so that their practice can operate with as much objectivity as possible. But, in cases where interpretation is necessary, and finite information is not available, a honed and careful subjectivity and, in some ways, instinct, is a benefit.
While making my way through Moore’s gardens, I picked up one of the many pieces of flint that speckled the earth and considered it, as Moore may have done. The opaline crust of the flint was split to sharply reveal the quartz inside. It was dimpled, evoking a face. Assessing this source material doesn’t divulge a technical picture of Moore’s final artworks; it does, however, remind me to maintain the natural nuance in a surface or enhance the soft shadows in a bronze form. When learning the techniques used to apply a patina to bronze, selecting the right chemical formulas and adjusting mixing ratios are those first quantifiable steps for a successful treatment. Sitting in the grass amongst a dozen Moore bronzes as the sun seems to illuminate the works from within provides an experience that feeds the less-tangible aspect of preserving an artwork’s presence.
Captions:
Thumbnail: A shelf in Henry Moore’s studio, with found objects and plaster maquettes. Photo by Jonty Wilde. © Henry Moore Foundation. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2025 / www.henry-moore.org
Hero L to R: Henry Moore, Large Reclining Figure, 1984, at Henry Moore Studio & Gardens. Photo by Sarah Mercer. © Henry Moore Foundation All Rights Reserved, DACS 2025 / www.henry-moore.org ; British sculptor Barbara Hepworth (1903–75) at work in 1950 on an abstract stone sculpture for the Dome of Discovery on London’s South Bank for the Festival of Britain of 1951. Photo by Haywood Magee/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images