This month, we speak to Lucy Fellows, from The Conservation Room. Lucy specialises in art conservation. Having trained at the Courtauld Institute of Art, she worked for several private conservation studios all over London before setting up her own studio, The Conservation Room, in East London.
What is your background and experience in the property industry?
I studied French and Art History at undergraduate level before deciding to train in the conservation of easel paintings at The Courtauld Institute of Art. Although my background is predominantly in the arts, specifically conservation, I work with a lot of clients who themselves own properties and seek advice on how best to look after their art collections, either personal or corporate. There are many small tweaks that can be made to your environment that can make a big difference to the longevity of your art collection, such as keeping the temperature and relative humidity stable, ensuring artworks are not kept in direct sunlight and controlling household pests.
Can you tell us a bit about your business and what you do?
Having previously worked for several private conservation studios all over London, upon returning to work following my maternity leave, I decided to set up my own studio, The Conservation Room, in East London.
We offer many conservation and restoration services, primarily focusing on the aesthetic and structural treatment of paintings such as cleaning yellowed varnish, tear repairs and retouching. We can also provide clear and concise condition reports for sales, acquisitions and insurance purposes and we offer advice and surveying for collection care and maintenance amongst other services. A comprehensive list of our process and services is available on our website.
Who are your typical clients and how do you market your service?
Our main clients are typically private collectors, auction houses and private galleries; however, we have also worked with public institutions including the Palace of Westminster.
Most clients are recommended to us via word of mouth. We are currently trying to grow the business and our client base. A lot of our marketing is done face to face, meeting clients and gallerists in person as entrusting your artworks to us requires a lot of confidence. Recommendations and testimonials are crucial to building our network. We are also able to build confidence via participation in industry events such as presenting at conferences and publishing articles in journals.
How did you first cross paths with Newmanor Law?
I met Karen Mason, one of the partners, through a family connection and was immediately drawn to her warmth and kindness. We have kept in touch since and it’s inspiring to see another woman who has built her own thriving business. Initially our working worlds seemed to be very different but once you start looking closer you realise there are many crossovers between law and conservation.
What are the key challenges currently facing the art world and how are you addressing them?
The world is changing quickly, with political uncertainty and trade tariffs changing seemingly every day, consumers all over are feeling the financial difficulties with less money to spend on buying and maintaining their collections. On the other side, galleries too are experiencing rising operational costs affecting shipping, rent and materials. This all has a trickle-down effect and unfortunately one of the first sectors to be affected is conservation. We are also experiencing new challenges with the rise of AI and a saturation of digital art. These works can present major copyright and intellectual ownership issues, as well as saturating digital platforms, which in turn can force artists to focus on marketing and keeping up with trends rather than being truly creative and pushing new boundaries.
The Conservation Room encourages the emergence of new media and artistic creativity; however, we always advise clients to steer clear of ‘trends’ and rather encourage buying something that truly speaks to you. After all, you must live with the artwork every day. We also emphasise the importance of collection care and preventive conservation measures that can really prolong the life of your beloved collections for many years to come.
What trends do you foresee shaping the art world in the coming years?
We are already seeing a shift against sleek, digital art towards a focus on handcrafted, imperfect artworks. There seems to be a trend for naïve and surrealist paintings and handmade textiles and ceramics all with a tangible quality where the hand of the artist is present. This has emerged in direct response to the abundance of AI and digital art. We are also seeing markets diversify in terms of location. In the past few years there has been a huge interest in emerging young artists from Africa and its diaspora. Many talented artists such as Cassi Namoda from Mozambique, and Ghanaian Kwesi Botchway are rightly starting to gain traction. It’s wonderful to be able to work on paintings that present new materials and challenges, ensuring that conservators and conservation scientists are constantly researching new methods and materials to use in our work.
On the other hand, within the conservation world itself, there is a shift towards finding more sustainable working practices and materials. This includes reusing materials as much as possible to reduce our environmental impact. There is also the exciting GREENART initiative in collaboration with the Tate and the Center for Colloid and Surface Science. They are testing new, greener methods for cleaning paintings rather to replace the more traditional, hazardous solvent swab-rolling so often used.
For more on Lucy’s work, visit theconservationroom.com(opens in new tab)