New Bedford Whaling Museum

The New Bedford Whaling Museum will conduct conservation treatment on portions of a panorama painted by Charles Sydney Raleigh between 1878 and 1880. The museum collection includes18 of 22 canvas panels from the epic panoramic painting that depicts the four-year voyage of the whaling ship, the Niger. Painted on a single canvas roll, the 6’ tall by 12’ wide canvases were cut apart, flattened, cleaned, patched, and adhered to heavy aluminum panels in the mid-twentieth century, in line with conservation practices at the time. Now suffering from damage and material decline, conservators will move one canvas to a lightweight aluminum frame, where it can be stabilized, cleaned, and repaired and more easily maneuvered and displayed. This project is a pilot for restoring the entire 18-piece collection in the future.