Frank S. Welsh

Frank S. Welsh (February 1950)

Frank (Sagendorph) Welsh is president of Welsh Color and Conservation, Inc., a consulting firm in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania that specializes in the investigation and microanalysis of historic paint, pigments, wallpapers and fibers in 18th through 20th century structures. Since 1972, Welsh has consulted on the research and restoration of original finishes and colors on over 1,600 restoration projects, which include World Heritage Sites and many national landmarks such as Independence Hall, Monticello, Colonial Williamsburg, and Grand Central Terminal. While the majority of his projects have been historic house museums and private residences, many have been historic churches, schools, lighthouses, bridges, ships, and railroad cars. His favorite preservation projects include Verdmont in Bermuda, the United States Capitol and Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater. His company also analyzes paints associated with objects of fine art, such as paintings and antique furniture, for purposes of authentication.

Frank S. Welsh holds a bachelors degree from West Chester University in Pennsylvania in the field of Arts and Sciences and certificates for advanced study in chemical microscopy at the McCrone Research Institute in Chicago. He has completed advanced courses in history, chemistry, geology and scanning electron microscopy at West Chester University of Pennsylvania, the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University and Bryn Mawr College. He began his professional career in 1972 as an Architectural Technician for the National Park Service for the Denver Service Center at their field office at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia. In 1975 he founded the Frank S. Welsh Co., and subsequently, Welsh Color & Conservation, Inc. as a consulting firm specializing in the investigation and analysis of historic paint and wallpaper coatings.

Over the past 35 years Frank S. Welsh has served as a visiting faculty member of the Preservation Institute: Nantucket, a summer program in historic preservation sponsored by the University of Florida at Gainesville. He also served as adjunct Assistant Professor in the Master of Arts in Historic Preservation Program at Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland. He has conducted workshops for historic site administrators, preservation groups, and restoration crews.

Awarded a Charles E. Peterson Fellowship for advanced study from the Athenaeum of Philadelphia in 1992-1993, Welsh undertook research on early American paints, colors and pigments, and wrote a chapter, "The Early American Palette: Colonial Paint Colors Revealed," for the book Paint In America, published by Preservation Press. This chapter features period color samples from many national historic landmarks, including the Redwood Library, Monticello, Gunston Hall, Independence Hall, and the Miles Brewton House. Welsh’s work on historic sites has been featured in both scholarly and popular periodicals, such as Architectural Record, Progressive Architecture, The Magazine Antiques, and Colonial Homes.

In September 2004, Welsh was appointed Research Associate in the Department of Geology at Bryn Mawr College in Bryn Mawr, PA, (www.brynmawr.edu/geology). And in the Fall of 2005 the United States Capitol Historical Society awarded Welsh a Fellowship to investigate, research, analyze and publish on the use of brown zinc paint used as a primer on the 1850’s cast iron door and window enframements at the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

In November 2007, at the annual meeting of APT in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Welsh received the Anne de Fort-Menares Award for his article: "Paint, Caen Stone, and Acoustical Plaster at the Public Library in Mobile, Alabama " published in the APT Bulletin in 2007. The award is presented for the article that best demonstrates excellence in the application of historical research to preservation practice.

References

Sweeney, Thomas, W. “Coats of Many Colors: Frank Welsh Pursues the Paints of History”, Preservation News, Washington, DC., September 1989.

Pirro, J.F. “A Colorful Past”, Main Line Today, Newtown Square, PA, September, 2005.

Links

* http://www.welshcolor.com Frank S. Welsh's official website