Work by Mary Hathway Billings (20th Century) came in with heavy dirt contamination, which results in dulled color tones and a misguided ambiance for the work. In-progress photos show how transformative our cleaning is, even when our technique is one of the more rudimentary ones: tailored solvents applied with cotton tips. The dirt has properties that are consistent with smoke-filled rooms, either by fire and/or tobacco sources. We expect a simple, yet dramatic transformation. Stay tuned for more . . .