Ringling to Unveil Series of Circus Banners

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Ringling to Unveil Series of Circus Banners

Published October 28, 2014

Image courtesy of The Ringling Museum

The Ringling will unveil a series of four, early 20^th-century, large-scale circus banners Nov. 7, 2014- March 29, 2015 in the Museum of Art. The banners are only now able to be displayed following a comprehensive, seven-year conservation process, spearheaded by Barbara Ramsay, Ringling Chief Conservator and formerly of ARTEX Conservation Laboratory in Washington D.C.

Background

Created by Belgian designer and artist Frans De Vos, the 9 x 9.5-ft banners once adorned circus entrances or served as colorful stage backdrops, and they are now a part of Howard Tibbals’ comprehensive circus collection. The banners were hung on facades, arcades or hallways and easily movable from one location to another. However, the constant rolling and unrolling resulted in distortions, creases, and tears in the canvas supports. Over time, inexpert attempts to repair the damages contributed to even further damage. The worn banners were discarded and replaced with new ones. As a result, few of these monumental circus banners have survived to modern day.

The unique collection of banners that remain have suffered severe damage over the course of their approximately 100-year lifetime, and Tibbals selected ARTEX to carry out, between 2005 and 2012, the conservation process. Ramsay and a team of conservators were able to restore the banners, which Tibbals acquired in 1989 through careful analysis, documentation and treatment of the fragile canvas.

“They are charming. They capture a period in time in terms of the costumes and the way they’ve been painted. There aren’t many examples that have survived.”- Barbara Ramsay

Information credits: The Ringling Museum of Art, Florida’s Ringling Museum to display rare, vintage circus banners by Mary Forgione

Conservation Efforts

In an ambitious effort to see Tibbals’ heroic gesture to completion, Ramsay and her ARTEX team reduced the aesthetic and structural damage caused by a lifetime of wear while retaining some signs of age and history, successfully returning the banners to a state stable enough for public display. Highlights of the conservation project include:

Stabilization of delicate paint layers and the integrity of the canvas structure;
Removal of marks, grime layers, stains, and patches from past, misguided restoration efforts;
Repair of tears and deformations; and
Infilling and in-painting along marked areas of paint loss.

Following this complex conservation effort, the De Vos banners will re-debut to the public newly restored—marking the first time in decades that visitors can experience these rare works of art in a condition so close to their original.