Following restoration, the Pietá will be much closer in appearance to what it was originally. The rich darkness of the background will be dramatic against the glowing gold decorations and the painting should delight and inform visitors to LACMA for years to come. Pietá will make its debut in LACMA’s upcoming exhibition The Eye of the Imagination: LACMA’s Collection of Spanish Colonial Art, curated by Ilona Katzew and scheduled to open in 2021. The accompanying catalogue will include an in-depth scholarly analysis of the painting.

TEFAF MUSEUM RESTORATION FUND COMMITTEE
Rachel Kaminsky, a private art dealer from New York who was formerly head of the Old Master paintings department at Christie’s; David Bull, a painting conservator and former Chairman of Painting Conservation at the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.; Dr Kenson Kwok, the former and founding director of the Asian Civilisations Museum and the Peranakan Museum in Singapore; Carol Pottasch, a senior restorer and conservator from the Mauritshuis, The Hague; and Ashok Roy, a museum scientist and a leading international expert in the materials and techniques of European Old Master Paintings, make up the international panel of experts which made the decision for the 2020 grant of the Fund.

PRINCE CLAUS FUND
TEFAF has partnered with the Prince Claus Fund for over a decade, working with the Fund to protect and preserve cultural heritage around the world which is threatened by man-made or natural disasters. This year, we are working together to support the National Archives of Suriname, which wants to bring together 20 of the country’s heritage institutions to develop emergency management and disaster preparedness plans.

PROTECTING AND SAVING SURINAME’S DIVERSE HERITAGE
Suriname has a diverse and dynamic culture, a multi-ethnic mix of indigenous groups with African, Asian and European influences, but many elements of its cultural heritage are largely unprotected. The centre of its capital, Paramaribo, was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2002. Paramaribo is located at the mouth of the Paramaribo River just a few feet above sea level. Now, with climate change, the country’s capital suffers from frequent flooding. Most buildings are constructed of wood, so fire is a constant concern, and there are many cultural heritage sites and artefacts both in and outside of the capital that are at risk in various ways.

The first step in the protection of this heritage is to bring stakeholders of 20 institutions together with representatives of the government, Civil Protection Service and the Red Cross to identify their needs and priorities for training. A 5-day training programme will be organised for 40-45 participants that will include risk assessment, salvage and recovery techniques, and will culminate with the development of disaster management and mitigation plans for each institution.

The institutions involved include some of the most important archives, libraries, museums and sites in the country, such as Surinaams Museum, the NAKS “EU-FRIE Documentation Centre for Afro-Surinamese Culture”, the Roman Catholic Bishopric Archive, and the Tembe Art Museum of Maroon Art, to name a selection. Together, they represent the national memory, history and heritage of Suriname and yet there are virtually no plans for how to anticipate or respond to natural disasters, until now.

This project will be a significant step in safeguarding Suriname’s cultural heritage for generations to come. Linking the cultural institutions with government, emergency and humanitarian representatives ensures better coordination when disaster strikes. TEFAF will donate €10,000 to the project, which will support a large portion of the work to be done.