The attitudes towards restorations have varied over the years. Using new material, this exhibition views the restoration art of different periods through the eyes of present-day restorers and seeks to show what lessons can be learned from previous approaches.

The past 150 years have seen a development and transformation of the art of restoration, from the reacting of architectural monuments into a national purity of style to greater sympathy for the history of the building and a determination to preserve the originality and authenticity of materials, techniques and form. The students at The Department of Restoration Art at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts have for the last year been studying six national monuments, from Uppsala Cathedral to Skokloster Castle.