Barclay Easel Restoration II

easel
I managed to get a couple hours of work done over the weekend on stripping the old paint, plus a chat with a friend who refinishes old pieces on a professional basis.  I think I’ m on the right track, and I’m looking forward to getting a bit more time in removing the last of the old finish.  It’s come a long ways.

The next step, after I finish the stripping, is to wet the wood down and steel wool the entire piece after sun drying it briefly.  Then will come the finish, which I  think will be simple warmed linseed oil followed by a light wax.

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Shickler067Here’s a shot I found of the great Aaron Shikler working on the identical easel in the 1960’s.  The only difference I can see is that mine has this threaded hand-screw instead of the knob on the top canvas holder. I have to say that  the hand-screw has a disadvantage in that it casts a long shadow, depending on the light source, but it also gets me wondering: how old  is this easel?

Barclay Easel Restoration

Barclay Easel restroation

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About eight months ago, I had the opportunity to acquire this beautiful old Freidrichs easel. It’s in good shape for it’s age, which I guess to be pre-WWII, though I don’t know for sure.  While doing some digging I learned that this is known as the Barclay easel,  designed by illustrator McClelland Barclay, who was quite the innovator in numerous ways.   The manufacturer  at some point changed it’s name from Friedrichs to the familiar (to artists) Frederix company.  It’s solid red oak throughout, and the crank mechanism works perfectly well.

I’ve  always  hoped to find something like this wonderful easel and bring it back into service.  When I discovered it, covered with dust and tucked away in a basement, I was delighted. Thanks again, Brad!

After a good amount of deliberation, I decided to strip and refinish the easel myself.  This is the easel in the condition in which I received it, the only real damage is a bit of termite activity that’s not threatening anything.  I’ll post some shots of the refinishing as it gets farther along.

In doing the research, Learned that this was the preferred easel of Norman Rockwell, and found many shots of him working at his. This is a favorite.

Rockwell Barclay easel
Rockwell painting at his Barclay studio easel