It was a painstaking process for David Stein and his team who spent weeks at an easel, brushing love back into a 160-year-old Eugene von Guerard painting of the Illawarra escarpment - Cabbage Tree Forest American Creek, New South Wales.

The work has been sitting in the gallery's collection, eagerly waiting to be asked to dance with a restoration team, to peel away the discoloured varnish masking all its glory.

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The extreme makeover was unveiled on Monday, with Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery noting the historic work reminded people of what a "pristine world" we used to have.

"It does remind us what this part of the world looked like to the original inhabitants as well as those who arrived here," Cr Bradbery said.

A video of how the painting was brought back to life can be seen at the gallery, along with the real thing, as part of the Art + Care Works from the Collection exhibition which runs until next April.

There are dozens more tired, old works sitting behind closed doors at the gallery, waiting for restoration. The von Guerard was the first to be picked under the Art + Care program, which was initiated by the Friends of the Gallery to help conserve artworks for hundreds of years to come.

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Eugene von Guerard was one of Australia's most important landscape painters, with many of his artworks hanging in major galleries around Australia.

Wollongong Art Gallery is operating under COVID-safe conditions, and remains open to the public.

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