Gervase Jackson-Stops, architectural advisor to the National Trust in England, served as guest curator of the National Gallery's Treasure Houses of Britain exhibition in Washington. In this article, he reviews examples of his work as restorer-decorator with other prominent specialists in the field (John Fowler, with their work at Clandon Park, David Mlinaric, with Beningbrough Hall near York, and others). He talks about his change of attitude toward the art of presenting historic buildings to the public in the present century, comparing this attempt to that of playing early music on authentic instruments, saying that despite all the scientific tools available today, we cannot make claims to total accuracy. Nevertheless, our knowledge of wall paint colors and textures, for instance, has increased considerably (thanks to the work of Ian Bristow in particular), thus the challenge presented by his work is growing along with our knowledge of the past. -- AATA