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This strange “paint disease” is putting Georgia O’Keeffe paintings at risk

Category: Collections Stewardship
An up-close look at a detailed section of O'Keeffe's Pedernal (1941) shows micron-sized "protrusions" from metal soaps.
An up-close look at a detailed section of O'Keeffe's Pedernal (1941) shows micron-sized "protrusions" from metal soaps.

Low cost tools are in development to diagnose and treat this “paint disease” found in oil-based paintings from all time periods. Watch a video on diagnosing “art acne” and read more about efforts to tackle damage and deterioration.

“We want to implement these 3D measurement systems as cheaply as possible and put them in the hands of as many people as possible,” he said. His method uses the LED flash or LCD display of a smart phone or a tablet as a convenient light source. That source would reflect light off the surface of the canvas and capture those reflections with the front-facing camera.”

-Oliver Cossairt

The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico, houses some 140 oil paintings by the iconic American artist, along with thousands of additional works from O'Keeffe's prolific career. But the oil paintings have been developing tiny pin-sized blisters, almost like acne, for decades.

Continue Reading at Ars Technica

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