“Any large, well-documented collection of colorants like this is of interest to those of us who work in conservation science and technical art history,” says Gregory D. Smith, senior conservation scientist at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. “While the cheminformatics approach is interesting in distilling meaning out of this large group of materials, these collections are most useful to our field when the samples have been fully characterized and the resulting spectral libraries can be used to assist in dye identification from artworks and artifacts.”
by Celia Henry Arnaud | June 27, 2017
Kristen Watts, working on her Ph.D. at the University of Arizona, became interested in analytical chemistry as an undergraduate at Furman University and hopes to pursue a career in art conservation science. “Sometimes people look at me cross-eyed when I describe what I’m doing as an analytical chemist,” she says.
by Rick Mullin | May 31, 2017
—Plastic film decodes the chemistry of priceless art objects “Noninvasive method samples the surfaces of historical paintings, frescoes, and more.” Beyond their beauty and cultural significance, art objects are covered with chemicals that provide a window into their history—how they were created, taken care of, and where they’ve been. But conservators have limited options for analyzing the surface chemicals without damaging the irreplaceable artwork. In a bid to help, a research team has reported an updated version of a noninvasive method for removing molecules from a range of surfaces and analyzing them using mass spectrometry (Anal.
by Sarah Webb | March 20, 2017
Teaching basic chemistry in undergraduate textbooks requires reading and rethinking textbook knowledge and comparing it with state-of-the-art results, not only from experiment, but especially from theory, she says. This often unexpectedly spawns research projects with the potential to lead to a paradigm shift.
by Stephen K. Ritter | October 17, 2016
The Award for Most Innovative Activity in a Local Section for Senior Chemists went to the Detroit Local Section, which held a senior chemists meeting at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Attendance was filled to capacity and included a tour of the Conservation Labs, networking, and future planning for senior chemists.
by Linda Wang | September 26, 2016
And for decades, many in the art world thought that this maxim was also true for the ghoulish protagonist in “The Scream,” a creepy masterpiece by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. At some point in the artwork’s history, a splotch of something suspiciously whitish had found its way onto the finished canvas, right on the screamer’s right arm.
by Sarah Everts | September 19, 2016
Meanwhile, he also volunteered at a local museum creating scientific exhibits. 2006 Changing careers from coatings to conservation After seven years at GE, Breitung wanted to move to New York City. When he saw an ad in C&EN for an art conservation scientist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met), he applied: It was a perfect match for his interests in science and art.
by Linda Wang | September 05, 2016