Modern Paints

Today there are hundreds of pigments available to paint formulators, facilitating the production of any desired combination of color and transparency in paint. The introduction of synthetic binders—most notably acrylic, alkyd, polyvinyl acetate, and nitrocellulose—has resulted in paints that exhibit fast drying times, reduced yellowing tendencies, a vast range of appearances and handling properties and, in the case of emulsion formulations, great flexibility and the elimination of organic solvents as thinners and diluents. Many artists have utilized these modern paints (including house paints and others that were never intended specifically for artists' use) and have explored and exploited their distinct handling and optical properties.

However, the enormous diversity in materials used in modern paints has important and direct implications for their conservation, since each type of paint is likely to display its own unique set of properties, which will govern their responses to aging, environmental conditions, and conservation treatments. So, for example, a perfectly safe cleaning treatment on one type of paint may be catastrophic for another.

Artworks from the 20th century represent the artistic legacy of our time. In order to pass these works along to future generations, it is essential to understand as comprehensively as possible the factors that govern their behavior and stability, and those that could contribute to their deterioration. Designing the optimum means for the preservation and restoration of works of art is an extremely complex task that requires a thorough understanding of all the materials with which they were made and the way in which these materials react with one another, with environmental conditions, and with conservation treatments. This information is best obtained with a combination of monitoring the behavior of actual art objects and an extensive analytical program that closely examines test materials subjected to artificial aging and/or trial treatments.

The project brings extensive scientific expertise and equipment to bear in the areas of materials identification, characterization, and cleaning. The combined results from each component of the project will assist conservators in studying the techniques of modern painters, selecting appropriate display and storage conditions for these works of art, as well as significantly contributing to the development of safe and effective cleaning methods and other conservation treatments for modern paints.

Former team members: Alan Phenix, Rachel Rivenc