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2012
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2014
Conference paper (published)
Kurt Schwitters’ British sculptures: materials analysis and assessment of stability
The first technical study of Kurt Schwitters’ small sculptures and three-dimensional mixed-media collages known as assemblages, made in the 1940s in Britain, was carried out using low magnification and ultraviolet examination, and x-radiography. Paint and plaster samples were analysed using SEM/EDX, FTIR and examination of cross sections. Some sculptures were...Townsend, Joyce H. ; von Aderkas, Nelly ; Ormsby, Bronwyn ; Sofer, Gates
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2014
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2011
Conference paper (published)
Shot and dropped: the conservation of a Niki de Saint Phalle Shooting Picture
Niki de Saint Phalle’s Shooting Picture is a mixed media work completed when first displayed in Paris in 1961. Spectators shot at the work with the .22 rifle provided, causing the plaster on a mesh support to fracture and release liquid paint held in plastic bags beneath its surface. The...De Bernardis, Sara ; Ormsby, Bronwyn ; Townsend, Joyce H. ; Green, Tim ; Smithen, Patricia
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2017
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2018
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2016
Journal article
Mineral spirits-based microemulsions: a novel cleaning system for painted surfaces
This paper reports further developments emerging from a collaboration between The Dow Chemical Company, Tate, and the Getty Conservation Institute which seeks to explore improved cleaning systems for unvarnished modern painted surfaces. Specifically, the present study describes three novel microemulsion systems based on water and mineral spirits, each formulated with...Ormsby, Bronwyn ; Keefe, Melinda ; Phenix, Alan ; Von Aderkas, Eleanor ; Learner, Tom …
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2011
Journal article
Novel approaches to the evaluation and development of cleaning systems for artists' acrylic latex paints
The article reports on approaches towards the development and assessment of liquid cleaning agents for acrylic latex paints of artists. It mentions the components of its methodology from high throughput (HTP) automated laboratory equipment for sample formulation, treatment and analysis. It also notes a comparative evaluation of naptha-based preparations and...Keefs, Melinda ; Tucker, Christopher ; Behr, Anastasia Mardilovich ; Meyers, Greg ; Reinhardt, Carl …
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2005
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2018
Journal article
Scientific investigation into the water sensitivity of twentieth century oil paints
In order to develop a better understanding at the molecular level of water sensitivity in twentieth century oil paintings, water sensitive Winsor & Newton oil paint swatches and twentieth century oil paintings were characterised using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and direct injection electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), and the data were analysed using principal...Lee, Judith ; Bonaduce, Ilaria ; Modugno, Francesca ; La Nasa, Jacopo ; Ormsby, Bronwyn …
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2013
Journal article
The use of Ripolin by Picabia in The Fig Leaf (1922)
From both anecdotes and the appearance of many works, Francis Picabia—like Pablo Picasso—is believed to have used Ripolin house paint. La Feuille de Vigne (The Fig Leaf) (1922 Tate), variously described as painted in enamel, oil, and Ripolin, has many visual characteristics associated with household paint: large areas of unmodulated color, minimal evidence...King, Annette ; Townsend, Joyce H. ; Ormsby, Bronwyn ; Gautier, Gwenaelle
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2011
Journal article
A preliminary evaluation of the surfaces of acrylic emulsion paint films and the effects of wet-cleaning treatment by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)
The surfaces of acrylic emulsion (dispersion) paint films were investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM), with supporting chemical information provided via infrared spectroscopy. The morphological and chemical features of the surfaces of a series of recently cast reference paint films were explored, including characterization of changes induced by exposure to...Kampasakali, Elli ; Ormsby, Bronwyn ; Cosentino, Antonino ; Miliani, Costanza ; Learner, Tom
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2017
Journal article
The Fig-Leaf 1922 by Francis Picabia
A sardonic attack on censorship and prudery, The Fig-Leaf provoked the conservative art establishment when it was exhibited in 1922. Picabia painted this work over an existing painting, Hot Eyes, which had caused controversy itself only a year earlier. This paper draws upon technical examination to reveal the appearance and...King, Annette ; Ormsby, Bronwyn
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2017
Journal article
The Three Dancers 1925 by Pablo Picasso
Devastated by the death of a friend in 1925, Picasso painted this ‘dance’ of intertwined sinister figures, the story and composition of which have been so well scrutinised by scholars. However, new technical imaging has revealed that the final painting was rapidly executed and is the last in a series...King, Annette ; Ormsby, Bronwyn
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2017
Journal article
Otaïti 1930 by Francis Picabia
Picabia’s so-called ‘transparency’ paintings – of which Otaïti is a prime example – have not been the subject of much technical analysis, until now. Otaïti appears to be unique in the series, with layers of deliberately incompatible media applied between layers of varnish. The delicate structure of the painting is...King, Annette ; Ormsby, Bronwyn
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2017
Journal article
The Handsome Pork-Butcher c.1924–6, c.1929–35 by Francis Picabia
This sardonic collage portrait of Raymond Poincaré, President and Prime Minister of the French Republic, was made with everyday objects such as combs, needles, curtain rings and pen nibs, all embedded in thick oil paint. Picabia subsequently ripped off the collage elements and painted the outline of a femme fatale...King, Annette ; Ormsby, Bronwyn
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2017
Journal article
Nude Woman in a Red Armchair 1932 by Pablo Picasso
This sensual portrait of Picasso’s lover Marie-Thérèse Walter was painted at the artist’s Normandy estate in 1932. Picasso dated this work very precisely, suggesting he completed it in one day, which this study shows to be entirely possible. 1932 was an extraordinary year for Picasso and this essay examines the...King, Annette ; Ormsby, Bronwyn
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2017
Journal article
Portrait of a Doctor c.1935–1947, by Francis Picabia
Portrait of a Doctor is actually two paintings: one was painted on top of the other at a later date. This paper reveals the very different techniques Picabia used to make the two iterations of the painting, and that the first version developed from his earlier ‘transparency’ series. Picabia’s choice...King, Annette ; Ormsby, Bronwyn
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2017
Journal article
Girl in a Chemise c.1905 by Pablo Picasso
Picasso transformed an earlier painting of a boy to create this profile of a slender young woman. This paper uses X-radiography and infrared imaging to look beneath the surface of the painting and unravel the way in which Picasso transformed the male figure into a female figure with a few...King, Annette ; Ormsby, Bronwyn
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2015
Journal article
Conserving Mark Rothko’s Black on Maroon 1958: The Construction of a ‘Representative Sample’ and the Removal of Graffiti Ink
This paper describes the preparation of a ‘representative sample’ and the investigation and refining of the solvent system used to remove graffiti ink from Mark Rothko’s Black on Maroon 1958, which was vandalised in 2012. The historical, technical and scientific research carried out led to the successful treatment of the...Barker, Rachel ; Ormsby, Bronwyn