Conservation of Zuber's "Scenic America" at Belvoir               

Virginia Contractor Brings Jim Yates to Belvoir Farms to Restore Historic Wallpaper  October 7, 2008 by Aaron O'Hanlon 

​

Tom Wotton of the Fauquier County Virginia based Home Sweet Home Improvements, LLC bravely undertakes the huge task of restoring the estate at Belvoir Farms in the Plains Virginia. Exercising his expertise, Tom keeps the continuity of quality at the estate by retaining a renowned wallpaper restorer to work on the delicate scenic that cover the dining room walls.

Jim Yates of Historic Wallpaper Specialties is a professional antique wallpaper restorer from Tennessee who has worked on successful restoration projects such as the President Andrew Johnson Homestead, The Frederick Douglass House and even the White House. While analyzing the wallpaper at Belvoir, Yates said “This is Scenic America made by Zuber in France originally in 1834. I would say that it was installed in this house between 1900 and 1920.” Yates started on the scenic by cleaning it, then removing sections from the wall and cutting open other sections before repairing it. After Yates was finished, his brother Frank Yates came behind him with his master color mixing abilities and flawlessly reproduced all the missing sections by hand painting them on the wallpaper. When they were finished you couldn’t tell that it was damaged and had missing sections. 

The process from stabilization of the paper substrate to in-painting is depicted the photo's below.