Last night there was a snippet of news on the BBC about Constable’s painting, ‘The Mill Stream’ having undergone restoration and conservation work.

I was very lucky to have worked with Emma Roodhouse, Curator of Art at Ipswich and Colchester Museum Service as part of an internship between my second and third years at University. One of the many wonderful tasks I had given to me was observing the removal of this painting from the frame and helping set up the room for the conservator to assess the work. Later on I helped wrap it in acid free tissue and package it ready for transport to X-Ray facilities. I never thought that in a month of Sundays that I would ever have hold of a masterpiece of international acclaim in my hands  but this was one of those moments that being a student  I was so lucky to have experienced.

Imagine my delight on seeing the program last night where the conservator revealed a hitherto unseen detail in the paint. Yes, a Kingfisher. A double delight for me.

One of my tasks was to archive the Wolsey Art Gallery and whilst this painting was absent being X-Rayed my photograph of it replaced it in the gallery. I was not permitted to use lights in the archive process but I think I have found the Kingfisher. I cannot wait to see how vibrant this painting is now.

Can you spot it?

Note: this painting has museum grade non-reflective glass in the frame which is not totally non-reflective hence the slightly magenta swirls in this crop.