Francis Downing lectures and gives talks to Insurance Investigators, Police and other professional bodies on the detection of forgeries and also to Colleges and Students of Art on the Conservation and Restoration of Paintings. He has also published a number of articles on the processes of Art forgery.
In 1997 on behalf of a Television Company he re-created an aged copy of a valuable painting using an old canvas and stretcher and deliberately aging the new paint and varnish layer. The painting was then used for a televised documentary.
Francis Downing trained as a Conservator-Restorer of Paintings in Italy – Bari and Rome. He established the Studio in 1976.
As well as being a member of a number of Professional Conservation Bodies including the Italian IGIIC, he is also a member of the Association of Consulting Scientists