Art Restoration – Painting and photo repair and restoration in North Carolina, serving the Southport area, including Wilmington, St. James, Oak Island, Bald Head Island, and Myrtle Beach, and beyond.

Restoration of paintings is an art form in and of itself. We’re proud of the restorations we have performed here at Strazza Gallery and our customers are delighted when they see their paintings brought back to life. We have restored very valuable paintings and we have also restored paintings the value of which is found in more sentimental ways.

We Clean and Repair: Oil and acrylic paintings, flaking paint, smoke damage, flood and water damage, punctures, tears, brittle canvas, frames, and more.

We also do expert restoration of photographs.

If you are interested in having a painting or photograph restored, start by Clicking HERE

Late 1800’s painting restored

Late 1800’s painting restored

This painting is thought to be a Solomon Hart painting, a British paintier who lived from 1806-1881. It came to us pretty dark and in need of a real cleaning. Otherwise the canvas and the painting were in fairly good condition, and no major work was needed beside...

Beautiful portrait restored

Beautiful portrait restored

This painting came to us in need of some attention. It was not terrible, but it had some small holes right through the canvas, the canvas was somewhat rippled, and it was also in need of some cleaning. The other challenge was that the canvas was not tacked to the oval...

Family portrait restored

Family portrait restored

This nice painting came to us not long ago, and it looked like it needed some serious restoration. The canvas was in good shape, and thankfully it had not been through something terrible like a storm or fire. That said, it did have quite a thick layer of nicotine, or...

Elegant portrait

Elegant portrait

This lovely painting came to us from a local woman who has had this portrait in her family for generations. The painting itself is beautiful, but it needed some serious attention, and it was a very delicate, if not fragile, painting to work with. Among other issues,...

Old Hunting Painting Restored

Old Hunting Painting Restored

This valuable pre 1900's oil painting has an interesting story. A couple, who had paintings restored by us before, were looking to buy this Hunting painting at auction. They sent a photo of the painting before the auction ended, and then called asking if we could...

19th Century Family Heirloom Portrait Restored

19th Century Family Heirloom Portrait Restored

This lovely portrait was brought to our attention by a local Southport customer in the St. James community. This painting has been in their family for nearly 200 years, and the subject is a family member. It's a large painting at 3x5 feet, and of significant...

Two wooden plates restored

Two wooden plates restored

We us ally restore paintings or photographs, but sometimes something different is brought to us. In this case it was two beautiful wooden plates that needed some cleaning, in-painting and more. Sadly I do not have the before photos on hand but I do have that after. So...

Restoring Patched painting

Restoring Patched painting

This painting came to us with a previous restoration. Unfortunately the restoration was done improperly with small canvas patches glued on the back (with animal hide glue) to repair rips in the canvas. Glue is not a good thing and causes problems for future...

Beautiful seascape with tear restored

Beautiful seascape with tear restored

This beautiful seascape oil painting came to use with a large tear in the canvas. It also needed some cleaning, but the tear was the big problem. It is an old painting which was also somewhat brittle and delicate. A relining was needed to bring some stability back and...

Two 1840’s Oil Portraits Restored

Two 1840’s Oil Portraits Restored

This husband and wife set of portraits from the 1840's were brought to us by a couple from the Southport area. The paintings had an interesting history and were ready for a much needed restoration. They were in oval frames with glass on top which was unusual for an...

Smoking damaged painting restored

Smoking damaged painting restored

This painting came to us very grimy and embedded with dirt, and smoke damage. The owner told us that this painting hung in a bar for many years back when smoking was allowed. It looked like someone painted a caramel color all over it. Here is a fun time lapse video of...

Baby chicks painting restored

Baby chicks painting restored

This adorable old oil painting of baby chicks came to us in pretty bad condition. The canvas was extremely fragile. It had a pretty good size tear, and the surface was embedded with dirt. Beyond that it was probably in a room with a fire place or smoking, or both,...

Saying Grace painting restored

Saying Grace painting restored

This lovely little painting came to us, and it was entitled, "Saying grace." It is a tiny painting about 5x7 inches. It depicts an older man sitting to a meal and simply saying grace. It is an old oil painting and it had some problems as you can see from the before...

Historic Ship painting Restored

Historic Ship painting Restored

This was an antique nautical painting that came to us with some patches on the back due to holes in the canvas. The paint was starting to crack, and it was quite dirty and in need of a total restoration, cleaning, and re-lining. Here are some before and after photos....

Cleaning an Old Painting

Cleaning an Old Painting

This is from an on site restoration. I was hired by a company that specializes in church restoration to clean and repair these old paintings in a church in NYC. It was of course a huge on-taking. And, while you may not have paintings this big in your home (these are 6...

Seascape oil painting restored

Seascape oil painting restored

This painting came to us from avid collector in NYC. It's a lovely painting, about 100 years old, that had an unknown history. This particular painting was very dirty, and probably spent a lot of time, years, over a fire place; but one never really knows. As you can...

Moving damage to art and insurance claims

Moving damage to art and insurance claims

Many people are moving to Wilmington, Southport, and St James Plantation, NC and in the process paintings and art pieces sometimes get damaged. We often fix paintings or frames that got damaged by movers. We repair the rips, or tears in the canvas and sometimes the...

Art Restoration now available for St. James Plantation, NC Residents

Art Restoration now available for St. James Plantation, NC Residents

Now residents of St. James Plantation near Southport, NC can have their paintings and photos professionally and lovingly restored. Strazza Fine Art Restoration (formerly from NY) now serves the greater Southport, NC area which of course includes St. James Plantation,...

4 x 8 Foot Architectural Design Restored

4 x 8 Foot Architectural Design Restored

This is the architectural rendering designed for the Met Life Insurance housing project, in Parkchester South, Bronx, NY. It was painted on a 4x8 foot plywood panel. It was discovered in a basement and incredibly dirty. It was very faded, and when we started testing...

Giving Thanks painting revived

Giving Thanks painting revived

This lovely little painting of a man giving thanks for his food, came to us in need of cleaning and a bit of in-painting. It had a film of some kind over it, and it really needed some careful attention. The results of this restoration left it with more contrast,...

Damaged Landscape Oil Painting Repaired

Damaged Landscape Oil Painting Repaired

This painting came to us in pretty bad shape. It was chipping and peeling, and was very dirty from nicotine smoke damage. It was also very brittle. This one required a new backing of canvas to support the painting. This is called a re-lining. Here are some photos of...

Small Horse and Carriage Painting Restored

Small Horse and Carriage Painting Restored

This very small 4 x 6 inch painting came to us in need of serious attention. As you can see it was peeling, chipped, and it also needed to be cleaned from smoke damage. One of the challenges here was that it was painted on a board, and we could not do any repair from...

Beautiful old Russian painting restored

Beautiful old Russian painting restored

This nice painting from Russia was brought to us for restoration. It was quite old and very delicate. It had yellowed over the years and was in need of some loving care. We were happy to see this one come alive and vibrant again, without loosing it's sense of history,...

Old Oil Portrait Restored

Old Oil Portrait Restored

This painting came to us in pretty bad shape. It had at one time been rolled up and probably shipped in a non protective way. It was cracked, and folded in many places, which ruined the paint. The entire surface of this painting suffered one problem or another, all in...