Facilitating the conservation treatment of Eva Hesse's Addendum through practice-based research, including a comparative evaluation of novel cleaning systems

Abstract This paper describes the methodology and practice-based research underpinning the development of a successful cleaning strategy for Eva Hesse's sculpture Addendum (1967, Tate Collection T02394). Research strands included: technical and art historical investigations to determine the materials and construction of the work of art and to define the aims of the conservation treatment; the production, soiling and accelerated ageing of mock-up samples using contemporary equivalent materials; and the systematic, iterative evaluation of soiling removal systems, which were further refined for appropriate use on the work of art. The comparative cleaning system evaluation was employed to determine options which offered optimal soiling removal efficacy and posed minimal risk to the work of art. Newly developed Nanorestore Gel® Peggy series (i.e. polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyvinyl alcohol/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVA/PVP)-based hydrogels), designed for the cleaning of modern and contemporary art, were evaluated with a range of other gels, emulsifiers and cosmetic sponges and assessed through a combination of empirical observation, microscopy and spectroscopic techniques. Promising options, combined with tailored aqueous phases derived from trials on mock-up samples, were then evaluated on discreet areas of the sculpture. After extensive testing, the top papier mâché section of Addendum was surface cleaned using an aqueous solution applied with cosmetic sponges, and the ropes were surface cleaned using a modified version of Nanorestore Gel® Peggy 5 (PVA/PVP) loaded with a tailored aqueous solution. The optimisation of this hydrogel, combined with the extensive supporting research, enabled the successful, low-risk, conservation treatment of Addendum for the first time since acquisition

Scientific investigation into the water sensitivity of twentieth century oil paints

In order to develop a better understanding at the molecular level of water sensitivity in twentieth century oil paintings, water sensitive Winsor & Newton oil paint swatches and twentieth century oil paintings were characterised using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and direct injection electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), and the data were analysed using principal component analysis. Liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry based on quadrupole and time of flight mass detectors and electrospray interface (HPLC-ESI-Q-ToF) was also used to obtain a better insight into the molecular composition of a selection of samples. The study highlights a strong relationship between the molecular composition of the binding medium and the type of pigment present in the paint, which relates to water sensitivity. Consistently non-water sensitive lead white, titanium white, and zinc white paints [all containing zinc oxide] contained a relatively low proportion of extractable diacids, and a relatively high proportion of extractable short chain monoacids. These paints also contained a relatively low level of unsaturated and hydroxylated glycerides. Water sensitive iron oxide and ultramarine paints are associated with both a relatively high degree of oxidation and a high proportion of extractable diacids, as well as a relatively high content of unsaturated and hydroxylated glycerides. Water sensitive cadmium red, yellow and orange paints were generally not highly oxidised, but they also contained a relatively high content of unsaturated and hydroxylated glycerides. It is hypothesised that water sensitivity relates to a low degree of saponification and crosslinking and possibly, on the relative content of dicarboxylic acids

Reviving WHAAM! a comparative evaluation of cleaning systems for the conservation treatment of Roy Lichtenstein's iconic painting

Abstract Roy Lichtenstein's Whaam! (1963) is an iconic artwork in Tate's collection (T00897). Over the past 50 years, the painting has been on almost continuous display and had accrued a layer of deposited soiling, which resulted in the dampening of Lichtenstein's vibrant colours and the masking of numerous subtleties across the painting surface. This paper outlines the design and execution of an optimal soiling removal strategy for this challenging work; utilising collaborative, practice-based research. The conservation treatment employed was derived through an iterative process that reflected and supported the conservation decision-making process. The research strands included: technical and art historical investigations to determine the materials and construction of Whaam! and to define the aims of the conservation treatment; preparation of accelerated aged and artificially soiled test (mock-up) paint samples based on contemporary equivalent materials and a comparative evaluation of a range of established and novel soil-removal systems, followed by further tailoring for use on the work of art. The range of cleaning systems evaluated included free-solvents, gels and emulsifiers; which were documented using star diagrams, digital microscopy and infrared spectroscopy. After a rigorous process of assessment and refinement, the strategy taken forward to Whaam! included the use of a polyvinyl alcohol-based polymeric hydrogel (Nanorestore Gel® Peggy 6), uploaded with tailored aqueous solutions. This process facilitated a low risk, controlled and even-removal of the soiling layer, enabling the successful treatment of this sensitive painting for the first time in the painting's history

Correction to: Conservation of Modern Oil Paintings

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The materials and techniques of William Blake's tempera paintings : William Blake, 1757-1827

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Girl in a Chemise c.1905 by Pablo Picasso

Picasso transformed an earlier painting of a boy to create this profile of a slender young woman. This paper uses X-radiography and infrared imaging to look beneath the surface of the painting and unravel the way in which Picasso transformed the male figure into a female figure with a few deft brushstrokes. The contemporary Parisian context and the identity of the sitter are discussed, as well as the skill and delicacy of Picasso’s early painting techniques

Portrait of a Doctor c.1935–1947, by Francis Picabia

Portrait of a Doctor is actually two paintings: one was painted on top of the other at a later date. This paper reveals the very different techniques Picabia used to make the two iterations of the painting, and that the first version developed from his earlier ‘transparency’ series. Picabia’s choice of materials is also discussed in relation to the date at which the work was re-painted, which remains open to speculation

Otaïti 1930 by Francis Picabia

Picabia’s so-called ‘transparency’ paintings – of which Otaïti is a prime example – have not been the subject of much technical analysis, until now. Otaïti appears to be unique in the series, with layers of deliberately incompatible media applied between layers of varnish. The delicate structure of the painting is examined here in detail for the first time, while the central image of the naked woman is revealed to have originated from a scandalous contemporary photograph

Conserving Mark Rothko’s Black on Maroon 1958: The Construction of a ‘Representative Sample’ and the Removal of Graffiti Ink

This paper describes the preparation of a ‘representative sample’ and the investigation and refining of the solvent system used to remove graffiti ink from Mark Rothko’s Black on Maroon 1958, which was vandalised in 2012. The historical, technical and scientific research carried out led to the successful treatment of the painting, which was returned to display at Tate Modern in 2014

The Handsome Pork-Butcher c.1924–6, c.1929–35 by Francis Picabia

This sardonic collage portrait of Raymond Poincaré, President and Prime Minister of the French Republic, was made with everyday objects such as combs, needles, curtain rings and pen nibs, all embedded in thick oil paint. Picabia subsequently ripped off the collage elements and painted the outline of a femme fatale over the ruins of the portrait.  This canvas exemplifies Picabia’s creative methods, investigated in detail here using X-radiography and other technical imaging, material analysis, and a contemporary photograph