The Art Institute of Chicago

IntroductionAuthor(s): Allison Langley and Harriet K. StratisSource: Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies, Vol. 31, No. 2, Conservation at the ArtInstitute of Chicago (2005), pp. 5-7Published by: The Art Institute of ChicagoStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4104452 .

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INTRODUCTION ALLISON LANGLEY AND HARRIET K. STRATIS

The conservators at the Art Institute of Chicago are pleased to present the first issue of Museum Studies devoted to conservation-related topics. The following essays offer a behind-the-scenes view of our work at the museum, where staff with diverse areas of expertise treat and research objects of every age, medium, and origin. The articles themselves range from detailed descriptions of restoration practices to broader discussions of the materials and techniques used by artists from a particular time and place.

Conservators, trained in both art and science, col- laborate with other museum professionals to interpret the origin and history of artworks; evaluate and improve their condition; and prepare them for future handling or exhibition. While restoring and stabilizing fragile works are among the most important-and perhaps the most well known-of every conservator's responsibilities, we also commonly undertake in-depth research projects. Working with curators and scientists, our role is to inves-

tigate and interpret the physical components of an object and help put the information we gather into a historical context. Known as technical studies, conservators' analy- ses of materials and techniques have become increasingly important to understanding and caring for works of art. Each treatment or research project begins as a kind of detective story: every object has a past waiting to be un- covered through intimate examination.

Presented according to the date of the objects they explore, the essays that follow showcase a rich range of materials: books, paintings, works on paper, photographs, sculptures, textiles, and "video art" or time-based media. The museum's distinguished collecting history is demon- strated as well, from the Japanese books acquired in the first half of the twentieth century to more recent arrivals such as an Egyptian statue of Osiris and Truth, a painting by the Swiss artist Ferdinand Hodler. Several of the works

discussed-the seventeenth-century Sevillian masterpiece Saint John in the Wilderness and Henri de Toulouse- Lautrec's Ballet Dancers-will be familiar to regular visi- tors to the Art Institute's galleries. Other objects, how- ever, will surprise. The museum's substantial holdings of Old Master drawings, American quilts, Alfred Stieglitz photographs, and Soviet propaganda posters are impor- tant resources for scholars but less likely to be on contin- uous view due to the number and, quite often, the fra-

gility, of the works they contain. Two articles describe

unusual, important collaborative efforts between the Art Institute's conservators and outside specialists: we play an

important role in caring for a number of Chicago's large outdoor sculptures thanks to the Ferguson Monument Fund and are breaking ground in the preservation of an

increasingly large collection of works on film, videotape, and digital media.

The motivations for the conservation projects pre- sented here vary as widely as their topics. While the com-

promised appearance or structure of an individual work often spurred us to investigate or treat it, the study and stabilization of groups of objects were triggered by changes in the use of a collection, a renewed scholarly interest, or occasionally the discovery of a cache of previ- ously unknown materials. In describing their efforts, con- servators mention a number of examination techniques that we use to look beyond the surface of an artwork; X-

radiography, infrared reflectography, surface monitoring with colorimeters, densitometers, and spectrophotome- ters, and the microscopic observation of small samples are all methods that have been employed for many years. The use of newer technologies including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence, and Raman

spectroscopy, for instance, can also lead us to a deeper understanding of a work's material nature and, ultimately, its meaning.

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INTRODUCTION

FIGURE I. Conservator Cynthia Kuniej Berry and Conservation Technician

Kirk Vuillemot examine X-radiographs of the heads of the promenading

couple in Georges Seurat's A Sunday on La Grande Jatte-- 884 (1884-86).

While their conclusions vary, each essay illustrates the beneficial results of undertaking a thorough examina- tion of a work's materials and history. Understanding an artist's technique helps interpret his or her intent and thus

guides treatments designed to improve appearance. Knowing the material structure of an art object, and the effects of time on this structure, are essential when plan- ning to store, handle, and exhibit the piece in the future. Some of the conservation projects discussed remain open ended: large collections continue to be treated and evalu- ated, and questions remain to be answered about the attri- bution and dating of individual works. Ultimately all of the research presented here will aid scholars from a vari-

ety of fields thanks to the documentation, digital imaging, and electronic databases they have generated.

Pioneered nearly fifty years ago by the eminent

painting conservator Louis Pomerantz, conservation at the Art Institute has grown to include a large, diverse

group of specialists (see figs. i-3). Currently there are nineteen conservators and scientists on staff, along with three contract conservators. They are joined by three Andrew W. Mellon fellows, recent graduates of conserva- tion training programs who work at the museum for one

FIGURE 2. Associate Conservator of Objects Emily Heye cleans Fillippo Parodi's Pietd (c. i686) in the objects conservation studio.

to four years, mentored by conservators of paintings, paper, and photography. Since Pomerantz's time, the prac- tice of conservation has also matured, reflecting the

increasingly sophisticated approaches of the wider pro- fession. The last half century has brought advances in all areas of treatment: conservators have at our disposal bet- ter tools for examining and analyzing works of art; a broader range of materials to use during treatment and a better understanding of their characteristics; and new means of documenting and sharing our work, thanks to

computers and digital technology. We are also ever more sensitive to the artist's hand and original intent, and the effects of a work's history and treatment on its appearance and interpretation. While conservators have long chosen our methods and materials based on their compatibility with an object as well as their long-term stability and

reversibility, the profession has seen an increasing trend toward treatments that involve minimal intervention. Now, we often aim to alter the physical components of an artwork as little as possible while assuring its stability and

improving its appearance. Our efforts have been further advanced by the rapid

growth and development of the museum's Conservation

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FIGURE 3. Executive Director of Conservation Frank Zuccari in-paints El

Greco's Assumption of the Virgin (i577).

Science Department, which was established in 2003 thanks to the generous financial support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Since then, the Department of Conservation and Andrew W. Mellon Conservation Scientist Francesca Casadio have worked to create a state- of-the-art analytical laboratory and initiate an active research program (see fig. 4). Currently the foundation is

funding a model effort with Northwestern University that aims to encourage collaborative research projects and a series of seminars in conservation science with the goal of strengthening the field's presence in the United States. In addition, the Community Associates of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Barker Welfare Foundation have made important contributions to the purchase of

indispensable analytical instruments. Art Institute conservators and conservation scientists

also play an increasingly active role in museum exhibitions and publications. Most recently, our research was featured in the exhibitions and catalogues Van Gogh and Gauguin: The Studio of the South (2001) and Seurat and the Making of "La Grande Jatte" (2004). The Art Institute hosted an

important conservation conference in i999, the papers from which were published in The Broad Spectrum:

FIGURE 4. Andrew W. Mellon Conservation Scientist Francesca Casadio examines a pastel drawing nondestructively with the help of the museum's new FTIR microscope.

Studies in the Materials, Techniques, and Conservation of Color on Paper (2002). Currently conservators are work-

ing on catalogues for the collections of modern European paintings, works on paper, and sculptures, and Northern

European paintings before 16oo.

Although the articles in this publication can focus on

only a small number of projects, we hope they demon- strate the challenges and the pleasures we experience working closely with objects and our ongoing commit- ment to caring for and studying the museum's extensive

holdings. At the Art Institute, conservators continue to search for new ways to ensure the collection's future by expanding our research capabilities, maintaining stable exhibition and storage practices, collaborating with schol- ars from other institutions and disciplines, and engaging contemporary artists in conversations about their work. We hope this special issue of Museum Studies, in telling the stories of extraordinary artworks and the devoted

people who work to preserve them, will encourage read- ers to stroll through the museum's galleries with a new

appreciation for the stories and secrets behind each art- work they encounter.

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