Restoration and Conservation

Abbie Vandivere has more than 15 years of expertise in the restoration and conservation of easel paintings. She is is employed as paintings conservator at the Mauritshuis. Experienced in the treatment of both canvas and panel paintings, Abbie has worked for museums, government institutions, and private clients.
A conservation treatment begins with a technical examination, which can often be undertaken on site where the painting is hanging or stored. Using the information gathered during this examination, a treatment programme and estimate is created. These take into consideration the impetus for treatment, such as an urgent case to stabilise areas of loss or damage, making the painting presentable for display, or a full, more complex treatment. During treatment, additional research can be undertaken regarding painting technique, history and context, or scientific analysis.

Treatments and employment

Mauritshuis, The Hague, The Netherlands, 2015–present

• Paintings conservator

• Performed technical examinations and conservation treatments of paintings from the Mauritshuis collection

• Head of research team: The Girl in the Spotlight (2018) and The Girl in 1665 (2022-23), technical examination of Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer

• Conducted technical examination and scientific research, summarised as technical entries for cataloguing projects: Genre Paintings in the Mauritshuis (2016), Still Life Paintings in the Mauritshuis (forthcoming)

Selected paintings treated at the Mauritshuis, 2015–

Pieter Claesz.
Still Life with Lighted Candle (1627)

Pieter Claesz.

Vanitas Still Life (1630)

Bartholomeus Bruyn the Elder
Portrait of Jakob Omphalius (1538-39)

Flemish Master
Portrait of a Man with a Samson Medal (1515-30)

From the Ground Up / AbbieArt Restoration: Private and freelance restoration work, 2007-2015

• Condition checking of paintings for exhibitions and transport

• Freelance restoration work for museums, private studios and private clients

Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, The Netherlands

• Freelance painting conservation / restoration, 01/2007-01/2008 and 07/2009-08/2010
• Condition checking (frames, paintings, contemporary art, works on paper), making recommendations for handling and transport, 02/2009-01/2015

Treatment summaries, 2006-14

Freelance restoration for the Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem

Four portraits of Kenau

Rediscovering the
Heroine or Hellcat of Haarlem

Ball Players
by Jan Miense Molenaer

Reconstructing a missing figure

The Capture of Damiate

by C.C. van Wieringen

Retouching a large seascape with thousands of dots

Jan Cornelisz. Vermeyen's
Holy Family andCardinal

A diptych reunited?

Early Employment

Stedelijk Museum de Lakenhal, Leiden, The Netherlands, 2009-2014

• Freelance condition checking of paintings, photographs and works on paper

The Kremer Collection, The Netherlands, 2009-2013

• Courier trips (including Paris and Japan) and condition checking of 17th-century Dutch paintings from a private collection

• Advice on handling, transport and conservation of paintings

Instituut Collectie Nederland (now Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed, RCE), Rijswijk/Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• Freelance painting restoration, specializing in Old Master paintings, 07/2006-06/2009

• Writing summaries of Picture Meetings for publication on the ICN/RCE website, 2010-2012

Winsor & Newton Database Project, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

• Interpreting and compiling data for entry into a database of 19th-century paint recipes, 09/2005–12/2005

AbbieArt Restoration, Private restoration work in London, U.K. and Calgary, AB, Canada, 04/2004-08/2005

Conservation Internships:

• Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, The Netherlands, 01-12/2006

• Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 07-08/2004

• Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, NJ, U.S.A., 09/2001–07/2003
• Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY, U.S.A., 02-06/2002