Presentation to focus on the contributions scientists make in the preservation and restoration of art
Posted on: 09/02
On Tuesday, Sept. 22, the Wabash Valley Section Meeting of the American Chemical Society will feature Suzanne Quillen Lomax, Ph.D. who will discuss the contributions that scientists can make in the preservation and restoration of art objects. The presentation, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 7 p.m. at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in the Hayes Auditorium of Hulman Hall.
Only recently have art curators and conservators begun to appreciate the contributions that scientists can make in the preservation and restoration of the art objects. At present, about a dozen museums in the United States have conservation science departments. Art conservation frequently requires specific information about the component materials of a painting or object prior to treatment. Pigment identification is frequently employed to determine if the pigments are in keeping with the time period of the object, as well as to understand the artist's materials and methods. Such tasks are performed using polarized light microscopy and X-ray diffraction of powdered samples or X-ray fluorescence, which is well-suited to this talk due to its noninvasive nature. GC and HPLC can be used to identify binders and organic dyes. Ultraviolet radiation can be used to examine the varnish layer of a painting as well as to identify areas retouched in previous conservation treatments. Infrared reflectography is frequently used to examine the underdrawing on a painting. This talk will focus on the application of these techniques and others to the examination of paintings and sculpture. Examples will be presented from the National Gallery of Art collection.
Lomax received her Ph.D in organic chemistry in 1984 from the University of Maryland. She then went to Northwestern University where she performed postdoctoral research with Frederick Lewis, examining intermolecular photoaddition reactions. Lomax has been in the Scientific Research Department of the National Gallery of Art since 1986, investigating the identification and aging behavior of artists' materials. Her areas of interest include the identification of synthetic organic pigments and modern paint binders. In addition, she has performed extensive analyses on traditional 15th and 16th century artists' paint binders.
For more information about the presentation by Lomax or the Wabash Valley Section of the American Chemical Society, contact B.R. Ramachandran, Ph.D., SMWC assistant professor of chemistry, at 812-535-5268 or brama@smwc.edu; Janet Clark, Ph.D., SMWC assistant professor of chemistry and physics, at 812-535-5295 or jclark@smwc.edu; or Laurence Rosenhein, Ph.D. with the Indiana State University Department of Chemistry, at 812-237-2243 or lrosenhein@isugw.indstate.edu.
