Edouard de Saint-Ours clearly described the fascinating work he and his colleagues have done to identify the source of the colors in one of the earliest color photographic processes. In 1848 Edmond Becquerel successfully produced a color photographic image, but himself was unable to identify the cause of the colors. The discovery of several of his early plates in the archives at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris sparked Edouard and his colleagues’ interest in Becquerel’s process and the source of his colors.
Edouard began by explaining the two known ways in which color can be produced in photography: through the use of colorants, or through the production of interference colors. It was assumed that Becquerel had been relying on one of these two types of color, and the research team focused on methods of analysis that would identify either of these two methods of producing color.
Becquerel’s photochromatic images were made by dispersing sunlight through a prism for several hours, exposing the plate in camera to form a direct positive. The images were not fixed, and will fade if exposed to light. In order to understand the physical and chemical composition of the Becquerel plate, Edouard and his colleagues replicated the technique themselves. To make a photochromatic image a silver plate was polished and cleaned, and sensitized by immersion in copper chloride, or by hydrolysis in a bath of hydrochloric acid. The latter is referred to as an electrochemically sensitized plate. Once sensitized, the plate takes on a red-brown hue. In the replication of the process the plates were exposed to a Xenon lamp with colored filters, and the colors produced on the plate corresponded to the color of the light.
Once they had replicated the technique, they set about studying their sample plates in order to identify the cause of the colors they had produced. SEM analysis and cross-sectional analysis showed that there were no surface or structural differences between the different colors. Although this suggested against interferential colors, it did not rule out the possibility entirely.
SEM-EDX offered the researchers more information about the chemical composition of the different colors, but also indicated no difference between the green and red colors on the sample plate. Both were almost entirely comprised of silver chloride. However, Edouard mentioned the very interesting possibility that very small variations in the proportion of silver could cause different sizes of silver nanoparticles to form on the plates. In this scenario, a different size of nanoparticle would form from each color of light, and the color of the silver nanoparticles would vary depending on their size.
From this hypothesis, the researchers performed spectroscopic analysis of the colored surfaces, a technique which can detect the chemical state of an element. However, this analysis showed only oxidized silver on all colors, with no indication of difference between colors, or the presence of metallic silver. Again, this suggests against the presence of silver nanoparticles, but does not definitively rule out that possibility.
Although the project has not returned any definitive results, the research is ongoing. In the meantime, the work has cast light on the complexity of Becquerel’s early process, and the intriguing questions still presented by early color photography.
Month: May 2016
44th Annual Meeting – Photographic Materials Session, May 16, “Understanding Temperature and Moisture Equilibration: A Path towards Sustainable Strategies for Museum, Library and Archives Collections,” by Jean-Louis Bigourdan
Preventive conservation is becoming an increasingly important part of our work as conservators, but it often seems that many important questions about environmental control have yet to be answered. Questions such as to what degree are fluctuations of temperature and RH humidity damaging to collections, and are they more or less damaging than strictly maintained but not ideal conditions?
Jean-Louis Bigourdan addressed some of these uncertainties in his talk on temperature and moisture equilibration in storage spaces containing significant quantities of hygroscopic materials. He focused on reconciling the need for climate-controlled storage with the quest for sustainability and the pressure of budgetary limitations. His introduction was reassuring: the current thinking on storage climate is that relatively stable low temperatures are desirable (“cool storage”), but there is little benefit to maintaining a perfectly stable climate (i.e. without fluctuations). Rather, a certain degree of cycling is acceptable, so long as the shifts are not extreme.
Following from this fact, Jean-Louis presented the concept of “dynamic management” of HVAC systems. Dynamic management entails shutting down the HVAC for short periods, such as overnight, and adjusting climate set points seasonally. This would save on energy, and thus reduce the environmental impact and cost of operating such systems. Of course, we as conservators are immediately concerned with the effect on collections materials during such shutdowns: How extreme are the fluctuations in temperature and RH resulting from periodic shutdowns of the HVAC?
This is the questions Jean-Louis attempted to answer through two phases of testing. He was particularly focused on the possibility that collections containing large quantities of cellulosic and/or hygroscopic materials might buffer against large or sudden shifts in temperature and RH. Jean-Louis undertook two phases of testing to understand the extent of the self-buffering capabilities of such materials. The first round of testing was conducted in the laboratory, and the second in library and archive collections storage rooms.
In his laboratory tests he exposed different types of materials to large fluctuations in temperature and RH. The materials included things like closed books, matted photographs and drawings in stacks, and stacks of unmatted photographs. He also tested the effects on these materials when they were placed inside cellulosic microenvironments, such as archive storage boxes, measuring the temperature and RH at the surface of objects, and at their cores. His results indicated that the RH at the core of books or stacks of cellulosic material does not change as rapidly as the exterior environment. Temperature equilibration occurred over a period of hours, and moisture equilibration occurred over the course of weeks or even months. Microenvironments increased the time to equilibration, mostly by controlling diffusion of air.
Another useful result of this laboratory experimentation was that it demonstrated that the moisture content of paper-based and film collections was more affected by environmental temperature than by environmental RH. In other words, at the same exterior RH, the moisture content of the collections object was lower at higher exterior temperatures. The laboratory testing therefore suggested that storage spaces with significant quantitates of hygroscopic materials will be buffered against large changes in RH and temperature due to moisture exchange with the collections materials.
Jean-Louis found that field testing in collections storage spaces returned many of the same results as his laboratory tests. 6-8 hour shutdowns of HVAC systems had little impact on environmental RH, and many of the systems they examined were already following seasonal climate cycles without causing dramatic shifts in the temperature or RH of storage environments. He encouraged conservators to take their collections materials into account when evaluating the buffering capacity of their storage environments.
I was very encouraged by these findings, although I have some remaining questions about the potential effects on collections materials. How much moisture is being exchanged with collections items in such a scenario? Is it enough to cause dimensional change in hygroscopic materials, especially on exterior surfaces, and will that contribute to more rapid deterioration in the long term? Regardless, I was happy to be prompted to remember that collections materials are an active part of the storage environment, not an unreactive occupant of it.
The talk wrapped up with Jean-Louis raising a few areas of further research. He hypothesized that changes in storage climate which are achieved through a series of small but sharp changes would result in slower moisture equilibration between environment and collections than would a change made on a continuous gradient. He also raised the possibility of predicting the internal moisture fluctuations of collections materials using their known hygroscopic half-lives. Both of these areas of research could be extremely helpful to conservators attempting any dynamic management of their climate control systems.
A particularly thoughtful question by an audience member provided the opportunity for more climate control wisdom. A Boston-area conservator of library and archive collections wondered whether it made sense to use dew point as the set point on HVAC systems in the winter to save money on heating costs, but during the summer to use RH as the set point to insure against mold growth. Jean-Louis felt this would be an unnecessarily complicated method of control, but offered a general rule for the storage of hygroscopic collections. He suggested thinking of lower temperatures as the primary goal, and of RH as important to maintain within a broader range. Lower temperature slow degradation reactions inherent to such materials, and so generally lower is better. However, RH need only be high enough so as not to embrittle material, but low enough to prevent mold growth. Essentially he suggested that if your RH and temperature are too high, you are better off reducing temperature slightly, which will slow degradation reactions, and as a side-effect your collections may absorb a small amount of moisture, thereby lowering the RH in the building environment.
Jean-Louis’s talk left me intrigued and excited about the possibility of taking advantage of hygroscopic collections materials to provide a more stable and sustainable storage environment.
44th Annual Meeting – Research and Technical Studies Session, May 16, 2016, “Combining RTI with Image Analysis for Quantitative Tarnish and Corrosion Studies” by Chandra Reedy
This talk focused on the combination of two technologies, Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) and Image analysis. Much of the talk dealt with the application of these two technologies to evaluate accelerated aging or Oddy Test coupons in a quantitative manner. As the evaluation of Oddy tests has traditionally been subjective, making reproducibility problematic, I was particularly interested in the potential for quantitative analysis.
Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) is a relatively inexpensive and simple tool that creates a mathematically synthesized image of an object’s surface from a series of image (typically ~36) lit from different angles and directions. The image produced by the RTI software can reveal visual information that is difficult to discern under normal conditions.
Image analysis software utilizes algorithms that enhance the visual separation of features and marks them for analysis, a process known as segmentation, thereby enabling those features to be quantified. The software used by the authors of this presentation was Image Pro Premier by Media Cybernetics, which has previously been used for thin section analysis of ceramics.
The authors used RTI and Image analysis in combination to evaluate Oddy test coupons. The process aided in visual assessment, improved the documentation of the results, and provided quantitative results. Adding RTI and Image analysis to the Oddy test protocol was not a cumbersome addition, requiring only ~ 20 minutes. It was noted that the type of coupon used made a big difference for this technique, as foil and bent coupons were not ideal since the added texture complicated interpretation of the results.
After exposure, the coupons were photographed and processed in batches by metal: silver, copper, and lead. A single image of the coupons was chosen from the RTI viewer and used for image analysis. A different protocol was used for each metal. The image of the lead coupons was converted to grayscale and the colors inverted, background, control, and corrosion areas were defined, and the “Smart Segmentation” tool used to separate and quantify them. The image of the copper coupons was not converted to grayscale and the variety of corrosion types were all treated the same by the segmentation process. The image of the silver coupons was converted to grayscale or pseudo-color to enhance differences before segmentation. The software allows for individual segmentation protocols to be saved and reused. The percentage of tarnished to untarnished surface could be calculated for each metal. Comparison with visual evaluation of test coupons yielded the following results:
Control or clear pass: 1-4% tarnish
Clear Fail: 45-100% tarnish
Pass for temporary use: 7 – 17% tarnish
The “temporary” category is particularly hard to judge when evaluating Oddy tests in the traditional manner, so this method seems to be especially useful in this case.
In addition to Oddy test results, RTI and image analysis were used by the authors to evaluate rapid corrosion tests and coating tests. In each case, like with the Oddy tests, the process provided good documentation as well as the possibility for quantitative results. The combination of these techniques seems to have great potential for a number of applications and their relative simplicity and inexpensiveness make them a great tool for institutions with limited analytical capabilities.
44th Annual Meeting – Photographic Materials Session, May 16, "Separation Anxieties: Freeing photos adhered to glazing or to each other" by Barbara Lemmen and Emma Lowe
This talk was split into two sections, beginning with a presentation by Emma Lowe examining the nature of the adhesive bond formed between blocked photographic prints (prints stuck together in a block) and glazing. This was then followed by Barbara Lemmen providing an overview of existing treatments used by photo conservators to tackle this issue.
The Experiment
Lowe’s research aimed to assess the nature of a blocked bond, and determine the factors that affect the bond e.g. surface finish, glass coatings, age of the bond.
She tested artificially aged samples of both glossy and matt prints adhered to three different types of glass including glass with no coating, glass with UV surface coating, and glass with integral optical coating. Half the samples were aged for 80 days, the others for 150 days at 30°C (86°F) and 50% RH.
Experiment Results
At 80 days, it was found that all the samples could be popped off the glass. At 150 days, 75% of the samples tore upon removal; glossy prints were even more likely to tear than matte samples.
XRF analysis of the gelatin layer pre and post-experiment showed that there was migration of the elements in and out of gelatin. At 80 days, there was a slight increase in Si in matte samples. At 150 days, there were changes in elemental composition. FTIR showed compositional changes in gelatin and glass pre and post experiment. SEM/EDS on cross sections of the artificially blocked samples showed the migration of elements across the blocked bond. Changes in elemental composition were seen within the gelatin colloid.
In short, Lowe’s experiment determined the following points:
- The initial adhesion between matte finished prints to glass is stronger, but aging leads to a stronger bond between glossy finished prints and uncoated glass.
- UV coating on glass acts as a barrier to adhesion
- There is a migration of materials between 80 – 150 days; electrostatic attraction between the glass and print converts to a covalent bond, explaining the increased bond strength. At 80 days 100% of samples separated without damage, at 150 days 75% of samples tore from the glass.
Treatment Overview
Lemmen then presented a variety of techniques used for the separation of photographs from glazing or blocked prints. For prints on glass (depending on the sensitivities of the object), the introduction of heat or moisture allows the gelatin to swell; this can be done via local humidification, the targeted application of aqueous solutions, steam or immersion (less common). Mechanical methods include removing the object from glass with a blade, or breaking the glass using a glass cutter. Dry heat or freezing with dry ice can also be used as a form of separation.
Blocked prints can be peeled apart mechanically, or they can be swelled with moisture. While trying to peel the sections apart, the local application of aqueous solutions to the adhered areas can aid separation. Overall humidification can be done on fiber base only. Splitting the RC prior to immersion was also discussed.
In conclusion, it was recommended to prioritize treatment of prints adhered to glass. In the occasion where prints need to be framed without a window mat or spacer, use UV filtering glass face-in to reduce the possibility of adhesion.
AIC Quebec City Trip Travelog Part 3
On our final day we split up into two groups: one traveled to the archives of the Musse de l’Amerique Francophone part of the Musées de la Civilization and the other to the storage facilities of the same museum network. The tour of the storage facility was led by one of the museum’s curators, who wove several fascinating stories about items into our visit (including an especially intriguing and gruesome tale about the gibbet of Marie-Josephte Corriveau that recently made its way into the museum’s collection). The storage center organizes collections primarily by material and preventative conservations needs. Rooms are titled by their principal contents, such as large objects and furniture, small wooden objects, paper, metal, etc. Each room’s temperature and relative humidity vary according to the items in storage. The facility also includes large rooms for initial quarantine, cool and cold storage, a relatively small conservation lab for minor treatments, and an area for documentation. Despite the large scale of the storage spaces, barely a speck of dust could be found anywhere and it was clear that the collections are cared for very well. We only stayed for the morning, but we easily could have spent an entire day or weekend just to see the facility in its entirety.
After our tour we headed back to the Chateau Frontenac on our bus, being sure to give Ruth Seyler a large round of applause for a productive meeting and a marvelously-planned tour of Quebec City. Old Quebec is sure to charm any visitor with its historic ramparts and European flair, although the opportunity to experience the city and its museums with historians and conservators was an especially wonderful treat.
AIC Quebec City Trip Travelog Part 2
The second day’s itinerary was briefly delayed by a government strike, although late start was greeted thankfully by many of us. When the 1.5 hour strike concluded, we travelled to the Centre de Conservation du Quebec (CCQ), a government-sponsored institution that provides conservation services and advise to organizations across the province of Quebec. The facility services the national museums of Quebec, the National Library and Archives of Quebec, and the Ministry of Culture and Communications among other museums and archives. The CCQ is one of the largest conservation centers in North America and employs over 30 conservation professionals specializing in furniture, sculpture, paper, textiles, painting, photographs, archeology and ethnology, metal, stone, and wood. The center also conducts research related to conservation and art materials, documents museum objects, and publishes frequently in French and occasionally in English. Numerous publications are available on the CCQ website on the “centre de ressources” page under the the publications tab: http://www.ccq.gouv.qc.ca/
The director of the CCQ warmly welcomed us, after which the labs were free for us to explore in an open house format. The majority of CCQ conservators spoke excellent English, and we were able to discuss their current projects and discover the facilities at our own pace. From frames and sculptures to musical instruments and religious artefacts, the items undergoing conservation at the CCQ spanned hundreds of years of creativity and presented a wide range of complex treatment concerns. Staff from each specialty expressed how rewarding it is to work alongside and collaborate with such a large team of conservators and how helpful that can be while tackling difficult and complex problems.
One such collaboration on display at the CCQ resonated with the conference theme, Emergency! Preparing for Disasters and Confronting the Unexpected in Conservation. A recent fire at a museum collection was quickly extinguished by firefighters. While the emergency responders were well prepared and managed to drape the majority of the collection with plastic sheets, a few archeological and ethnographic objects were severely water damaged. Conservators at the CCQ’s textiles lab and archeology and ethnography lab worked together to slowly dry and stabilize the objects before performing exquisite treatments to bring the objects back to life.
Apart from the labs, the CCQ invited us to their rooftop to see three current research projects that explore the durability of various materials in the highly variable climate in Quebec City. One test is investigating the effectiveness of various paints and coatings on cedar shingles, another is testing the effectiveness of several varnishes as anti-graffiti coatings for use on outdoor acrylic murals, and the third is looking at the performance of several mortar recipes for use with limestone masonry. The CCQ is very passionate about finding answers to pressing conservation questions and sharing their findings with those individuals and institutions, especially those who may not have the resources to conduct equally technical studies.
After our tour of the spacious facilities, we enjoyed lunch with the conservators at CCQ. With the warm conversations, an invitation to a conservator’s classical music performance that evening, and a lively infant who joined us, the room where we dined was full of a familial spirit. Though we could have spent the entire day at the CCQ, we gathered for a group photo and departed for the Musée de la Civilization. A special thanks to Michael O’Malley for arranging the group visit to the CCQ.
The Museum of Civilization is located in Quebec atop an historic waterfront which gradually expanded through rubble and earth in-fill over the past centuries. The museum’s design by Moshe Safdie dates from 1988, his first building in the province of Quebec since his Habitat 67. We had a guided tour of two exhibitions that highlight many of the museums inititatives. The first, This is Our Story, walks visitors through Inuit and first nations’ histories and contemporary experiences while posing questions about the future of over 90,000 individuals from eleven Aboriginal nations currently living in Quebec. The second, Lifelines, features indigenous contemporary art from Australia that grows out of a dynamic range of political, cultural, and aesthetic ambitions. A special thanks to Annie Beauregard for arranging the visit to the Museum of Civilization and the two Friday tours.
We met David Mendel at the museum after visiting the exhibits and set out for a walking tour of the lower town. The urban fabric of Quebec City cascades over the extreme topography near the banks of the St. Lawrence, creating a series of stepped town squares and magnificently composed views of cobblestone streets. David brought drawings from the 17th and 18th century that highlighted the dramatic changes that the lower town has seen over the years. With his deep involvement in the architectural preservation of the city, David also shared some of the political conversations and decisions that resulted in the cities current approach to restoration. The city has opted to preserve as much history as possible without choosing to build new structures in a historical style, which many were worried might produce an inflated sense of architectural heritage.
The tour terminated at the Musée de la Place Royale, a building that succinctly embodies the city’s attitude toward preservation: historic walls remain preserved while a series of architecture modifications in explicitly contemporary materials allow the building to be simultaneously historic and new. We enjoyed a reception at the museum with refreshments, hors d’oeuvres, and wonderful views of the quaint square and church adjacent to the museum. After the reception, several of us ventured back into lower town in search of a regional dessert called beaver tail. After meandering through the twisty streets, a large beaver carved in wood led the way; we found our fried dough with cinnamon and sugar, and found the confection especially delicious with a squeeze of lemon!
AIC Quebec City Trip Travelog Part 1
After the magnificent whirlwind of the joint AIC, CAC-ACCR meeting, over twenty conference-goers and guests set out on an early bus towards Quebec City. As the Montreal skyline receded behind us, we caught glimpses of two groundbreaking works of architecture from the 1967 World’s Fair: Moshe Safdie’s Habitat 67 erupting as a brutalist landscape in the distance and Buckminster Fuller’s Montreal Biosphere, a futuristic pavilion encapsulated in a striking geodesic dome framework. The landscape quickly dissolved into forests and farmland, and we travelers began to get to know each other and share our conference experiences. One of the many pleasures of attending the post-trip was hearing fresh, first-hand accounts of the tips, breakout sessions, and lessons gathered by others at the meeting.
Our conversations on the bus revealed the great variety of experiences among the group: from emerging conservators to spouses and seasoned conservation professionals, we came from diverse backgrounds and represented Australia, Canada, Portugal, and US locations from the east coast to California and Hawaii. The dynamic mix would be a great asset as we explored the history, culture, and collections of Quebec City together.
As we approached the city over the St. Lawrence River, our bus driver pointed out the storied Quebec Bridge and informed us that the name of the city derived from an Algonquin word that means “where the river narrows.” This etymology is a point of pride for Quebec City inhabitants and was affectionately recounted by several others over the following days.
Upon arrival, we had a few moments to settle into our regal accommodations at the Chateau Frotenac before gathering for lunch and a lesson in Quebec City’s history led by David Mendel. David is a walking encyclopedia of the region, and his enthusiasm for the history, architecture, and culture of Quebec City was infectious. He shared the origins of the city, outlined military and trade history, and explained the national and international role that the city has played across time. David is such a talented raconteur that he makes Quebec City appear to be the center of all North American history, if not the whole world.
After our lesson, David led us on a brief bus trip across the Plains of Abraham, site of an historic battle during the French and Indian War during which British soldiers took control of the city from the French. The battlefields are also home to the Quebec Citadelle, the strategic architectural forefront of the city’s ramparts. This series of defensive structures make Quebec City the only fortified city in the US or Canada, a fact that helped the city gain UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 1985. After our bus tour, David led the group by foot across the charming, winding streets of Old Quebec. We stopped in several magnificently gilded churches, learned about historic building methods, and saw an especially breathtaking collection of tapestries at the Museum of the Ursulines of Quebec.
After some restful free time, we indulged in a spectacular feast at Le Saint-Amour. A well-decorated restaurant, Le Saint-Amour prides itself on highlighting local products in traditional, regional dishes updated with innovative and contemporary culinary techniques. The company was as delightful as the food, and it was an ideal way to wrap up our first day in Quebec City.
AIC 44th Annual Meeting – Paintings Session, May 15, “The Painting Materials and Techniques of J.E.H. MacDonald: Oil Sketches from 1909-1922” presented by Kate Helwig, Senior Conservation Scientist at CCI, and Alison Douglas, Conservator at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection
Conservation scientists at the Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) continue to examine artists’ works and contribute each year to the growing database of information on Canadian artists’ working methods and materials.
One of their latest projects is the characterization of the materials used by painter J.E.H. MacDonald (1873-1932). The study looks at the supports, grounds and paint formulations MacDonald used during the period 1909-1922. This study compliments an important retrospective of the artist’s work planned for 2018 at the McMichael Collection of Canadian Art.
MacDonald was a founding member of the famed cohort of Canadian landscape painters known as the Group of Seven, and was closely associated with the celebrated painters, Lawren Harris and Tom Thomson
In all, 32 works from Ontario museum collections were examined, comprising 11 oil paintings and 21 oil sketches. The goal of this study is to gain a better understanding of the artist’s working methods and materials, and to assemble some reference data to help attribute works of uncertain date or origin. This particular presentation focused on observations and results from 13 of these works.
Throughout the period under study, MacDonald used a variety of rigid painting supports, including fiberboard, pulpboard, laminated pulpboard, and thin bookbinder’s board, which may have been his preferred support.
The study reveals that there was a shift in the size of the support he favoured through this period. Early works before 1914 were varied in size, often small, less than 7 x 9 inches. Through the years 1914-1917, he often chose a standard 8 x 10 inch format, and after 1918 he chose a slightly larger size, 8.5 x 10.5 inches, which was also the size favoured by his friend Tom Thomson, who died mysteriously in 1917.
This change in size of the support was also paralleled by a gradual change in his preparatory layers and painting technique. A variety of materials were found in the grounds of his early works. Sometimes he employed coloured double grounds. After 1918, he abandoned traditional grounds, preferring simply to seal the board surfaces with shellac. It was noted that this layer could prove to be solvent-sensitive during future varnish removal operations.
There was a gradual shift in his painting technique as well: his palette changed from muted colours, layered wet into wet, to a bolder paint application. By 1918 in his Algoma paintings, the brushstrokes are more confident and vigorous, often applied using complimentary-coloured paint strokes. An interesting feature of these works is the fact he often left the support or underlayers visible at the edges of his brushstrokes. Bold outlines of oil paint underdrawing are also sometimes seen through the brush strokes of the upper layers of paint.
Paint pigments and fillers were also characterized for the paintings and sketches studied. MacDonald’s paints were generally complex mixtures made of multiple colours, composed of 2 or 3 main colours, adjusted by the presence of small amounts of 2 or 3 more colours. A distinguishing element of his favoured palette include a characteristic mixture of lead sulfate and zinc oxide for his whites – a mixture that was commonly used by Tom Thomson and members of the Group of Seven. This particular white is likely the new “Flake White” paint manufactured by the renowned British colourmen, Madderton & Co. (founded by A.P. Laurie) used for its Cambridge Colours paints that were sold worldwide in the first three decades of the 20th century. Viridian was the only truly green pigment the artist used, while various blues and yellows were also combined to make other shades of green. Yellows, blacks, reds and blues were also characterized. Of interest is the bright yellow paint, likely a Winsor and Newton tube paint, since it contained chrome yellow and a magnesium carbonate filler, materials not found together in the Cambridge paints line.
The publication of this information on MacDonald’s materials will be a welcome contribution to the advancement of our knowledge of the artist’s working methods. This information will also be essential as scientists begin to examine and ponder the materials used in a controversial group of small oil sketches that were purportedly buried for decades on the artist’s estate, before they finally entered (in recent months) the collection of a major Canadian institution. Tip of the iceberg indeed…
44th Annual Meeting—Book & Paper Session, May 15, “The Challenge of Scale: Treatment of 160 Illuminated Manuscripts for Exhibition,” Debora D. Mayer and Alan Puglia
With a team of 25 conservators, technicians, and interns, the Weissman Preservation Center at Harvard University is responsible for 73 individual repositories. A large-scale preservation program is essential to care for the vast amount of material in their collections, and Debora Mayer began her talk by commenting on the shifting attitudes in conservation to large collections. As the title of her talk had been changed last minute and large-scale treatment of collections is often associated with terms such as “business plans” and “time management” in my mind, I was expecting to hear a talk about compromises, budgets, and efficient treatment alternatives. Talks about these subjects are often impressive in demonstrating how much work can get done in a limited time, but can sometimes be a little sombre as they often remind us how often conservators don’t have the time to do everything we want. Debora’s talk was therefore uplifting and inspiring in describing how her team avoided burnout by working together to complete large amounts of high quality work within a reasonable time frame.
Treatment for over 160 medieval and Renaissance manuscripts with varying issues concerning structure and media stability had to be carried out within a two-year timeframe in preparation for a loan to a multi-venue exhibition. Since visual identification of unstable media using a microscope was insufficient (media that appeared unstable could actually be stable and vice versa), the team at the Weissman Preservation Center concluded that testing had to be done individually. Within the timeframe, it was not feasible to carry out an extensive study of all objects or to consolidate every illuminated leaf; only the ten leaves on either side of the display opening and the first leaf, often handled, would be tested and treatment carried out if necessary. Even so, this meant a staggering 57,000 cm2 of illuminations requiring consolidation. Based on previous treatments, it would take a conservator two to three minutes consolidating every cm2, but Debora pointed out that it was also important to remember the extra time required for handling or treating large items, housing needs, packing, documentation, etc. during time estimates for treatments. A 5,000-hour time estimate was drawn up, with 2,800 hours expected for consolidation. This was equivalent to three conservators working full time on the project for two years. I shuddered trying to imagine being one of three conservators tasked with the responsibility of this enormous project.
To reduce the work-fatigue that three conservators working on the project full time would inevitably experience, ten conservators worked halftime on the project over the two years, using excel spreadsheets to plan and keep track of workflow. With the amount of people working on the project, it was important to maintain uniformity in treatment procedures and judgment. All conservators followed the same protocols (e.g. using the same magnification or tools) to give the appearance that a single person treated the collection. For quality control, one conservator carried out treatment while another assessed to ensure the media was stable and that there was no visual change. Debora explained how the quality of treatment increased when multiple conservators could agree with a procedure and work together to set standards.
I really admired Debora’s emphasis on teamwork and communication—being open minded, ready for sharing observations and extensive discussions, and letting go of egos. Her talk was encouraging, showing that it is possible to get such a large amount of work done within a short timeframe while maintaining positivity and enthusiasm.
44th Annual AIC Meeting – Track A: Confronting the Unexpected, May 16, "Preservation of the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) Collection: Protecting Art at Risk" by Barbara Heller
Here was a distinctly man-made disaster of epic proportions. Director and Conservator, Special Projects, Barbara Heller’s past experience had included work on 1966 Florence flood-damaged books and paintings and she was a responder for the DIA’s emergency team, yet no amount of disaster mitigation had prepared her for the stress and uncertainty of bankruptcy. At the risk of oversimplification, the Detroit Institute of Fine Arts’ collection was put at risk of being sold when the city of Detroit declared Chapter 9 in July, 2013.
The DIA collection, one of the largest in the country, includes iconic works by Bellini, Breugel, Frans Hals and Diego Rivera to name a few. Incorporated as a private nonprofit “Founders Society” in 1885, the DIA had moved from the private sector to a city-owned entity in 1919, with a new building dedicated to the people of Detroit. Now the City’s creditors believed the artwork should be sold against municipal debts. The DIA maintained that it held the collection in trust for the public and that it was not for sale.
Christie’s was contracted to appraise the entire collection over a period of four months. Museum staff had to oversee the evaluators while they examined the collection in three phases. Collections management set up a designated examination room in an effort to limit access to museum storage.
Barbara was asked to conduct research, both for the evaluators and the DIA’s lawyers. Her talk emphasized the importance of maintaining access to original collection files, including registration, donor/dealer, curatorial and conservation reports. Barbara’s search revealed critical discrepancies between the museum’s digital database and the original files. For example, several early acquisitions including a Van Gogh and Matisse were listed as city donations in the digital database. Original minutes from early meetings revealed the works had been purchased by private donors and transferred to the City.
A “Grand Bargain” was eventually struck which became the City’s plan to exit bankruptcy, fund pensions and prevent the sale of DIA’s artwork. The Court found that selling the DIA’s collection would be to “forfeit Detroit’s identity.” Not quite out of the woods yet, the DIA had to raise 100 million dollars as part of the deal. Happily, a key piece of the fundraising was a 26 million dollar gift from the Ford Foundation. As of 2015, the DIA once again became a nonprofit corporation aka Founders Society Detroit Institute of Arts. As etched on the marble facade in the late 1920’s, the collection remains “Dedicated by the People of Detroit to the Knowledge and Enjoyment of Art.”