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Maximilian Schele De Vere was born in Sweden and earned a Ph.D. from the University of Berlin. In 1844, the University of Virginia Board of Visitors appointed him professor of modern languages. The widow of the professor donated his portrait to the University after his death in 1898. While on display in a University building on grounds, the painting suffered significant damage.

In addition to the resulting complex tear to the canvas support, the painting had become dark and discolored in appearance. The yellowing of the varnish and the disfiguring accumulation of dust and soot obscured the portrait image and the structure had become distorted from exposure to uncontrolled temperature and humidity conditions. The painting's conservator repaird the tear to the canvas and cleaning reduced the discolored varnish, soot, grime, and stains from the paint surfaces. Losses to the paint layers were filled, and fills and any remaining staining were in-painted using pigments dispersed in an acrylic resin. The painting's frame--a twentieth-century replacement of the original--had deteriorated from age, and was replaced with a new frame of period-appropriate style, fitted with an oval spandrel window mat. Conservation grade acrylic was installed for additional protection.