Kim ONdaatje | Abandoned Orchard
1964 | oil on canvas | 91 cm (h) x 122 cm (w) x 2 cm (d)
SUPERVISION: PATRICIA SMITHEN
BEFORE TREATMENT; Kim Ondaatje, "Abandoned Orchard", face, flash fluorescent lighting; photo credits: Courtney Books
AFTER TREATMENT; Kim Ondaatje, "Abandoned Orchard", face, flash fluorescent lighting
CONDITION SUMMARY
- Structural insecurities + torque issues: stretcher system insufficient to sustain weight of canvas + paint
- Extreme interlayer delamination due to zinc stearates
- Aesthetic disfigurations: losses, tenting, and deep cracking in paint layers
- Frame damages: missing upper right corner
ANNOTATED IMAGE: BEFORE TREATMENT
TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
- IMAGING: UV-radiography, transmitted + raking light photography, IR-reflectography
- INSTRUMENTATION + SPECTRA: FTIR, XRF, Cross-section microscopy
TREATMENT - PAINTING
- Dry-cleaning + aqueous surface cleansing
- Consolidation of delaminating + insecure paint layers; relaxing/reforming of lifted paint
- Wax-resin fills + minimal retouching
- Structural additions: insert panels
TREATMENT - FRAME
- Dry-cleaning + aqueous surface cleansing
- Consolidation and resin-epoxy repair
SKILLS FEATURED
- Adapted treatments in order to retain maximum artist-original materials
- Extensive internal and surface consolidation measures
- Structural repairs: panel insert constructions/installation + frame repairs
DURING TREATMENT: dry cleaning of high impasto surface, natural lighting
Extensive internal and surface consolidation measures
Severe delamination, convex lifting, tenting, and incipient cleavage of paint layers resulted from the following: 1) artist application (thick, applied with palette knife) 2) mechanical stress and trauma to the object and 3) the presence/layering of under-bound earth pigments and zinc stearate soaps drove the treatment of this painting.
Stabilization of these layers required an intensive stage of injection and surface consolidation with an adhesive (BEVA® 371-b) that offered the properties: 1) ability to be thinned in order to permeate and fill internal delamination 2) high strength/tack level and flexibility to resist re-deformation from internal stresses or physical shock to the overall painting structure 3) compatibility with wax-resin filling material and 4) removability with a material that passed solubility tests (e.g. xylene). Wax-resin fills (Gamblin® Pigmented Wax Resin) reinforced edges of the paint layers vulnerable due to losses.
BEFORE TREATMENT; paint losses, delamination, and cracking associated with zinc stearate soaps and paint materials layering; natural lighting; microscopic images taken with 20x lens, model Leica m655
CROSS-SECTION ANALYSIS, interlayer delamination + zinc stearate; Queen's MAC March 2018
FTIR ANALYSIS with Professors Scott Williams and Herbert "Gus" Shurvell Zinc stearate; Queen's MAC Oct 2017
INTERPRETATION: Air CO2 absorption between 2300 and 2400 cm-1 has been eliminated from the sample spectrum. The presence of zinc stearate (produced from the reaction of zinc oxide with drying oil), is supported by three peaks (marked 1, 2 and 3), which are clearly present. The strong absorption at the lower wavenumber end of the spectrum is due to zinc oxide. The carbonyl absorption near 1720 cm-1 and other peaks are most likely due to residual drying oil in the sample.
BT: pre-consolidation treatment DT: post consolidation + relaxing . AT: post wax-resin fill, natural light
DT: wax- resin fills during (left) and after, natural lighting
Structural repairs: panel insert construction + installation
The structural instability of the original stretcher demanded a solution that would bolster the canvas support (heavy with thick paint) from flopping and reduce the possibility of torque or twisting of the entire painting. Panel inserts (constructed out of archival blue board and a foam core board) fit snuggly between stretcher bars and the cross-brace, improving the stability of the canvas support + paint layers and resistance to torque or vibrational shock.
The batten frame, offering negligible stability to the overall structure, was likely constructed and installed by by the artist and therefore retained. Structural repairs (consolidation and wood joining) + epoxy-resin fills helped visually reintegrated the frame, battered from mechanical stress.
BT: reverse, flash fluorescent lighting AT: post two canvas inserts, lash fluorescent lighting
BT: micro-image of paint on frame BT: pre fill + retouching AT: post epoxy-resin fill + retouching
TREATMENT MATERIALS USED
- Dry-cleaning materials: chemical soot sponge
- Aqueous cleansing materials: pH adjusted water pH 7.3 (distilled water, ammonia hydroxide (NH4OH) and acetic acid (CH3COOH)
- Consolidation materials: isinglass sturgeon glue, BEVA® 371-b
- Filling and retouching materials: Gamblin Pigmented Wax Resin® sticks, Kremer® loose pigments (Prussian blue, ultramarine blue, cadmium yellow); Gamblin Conservation Colors®
- Panel Inserts, frame, and stretcher consolidation/repair: Lineco® Neutral pH adhesive, Lee Valley® Fish Glue, archival blue board and foam core; Araldite® Wood paste, Winsor and Newton watercolours
- Solvents: Stoddard’s Solvent, o-xylenes, isopropanol