Vasilike Argyropoulos, Maria Giannoulaki, Varvara Marazioti, Artemios Oikonomou, Maria Florou, Argyro Batsi, Marina Stavrakaki, Vivi Tonari, Michalis Andrianakis, Monica Dinu, and Roxana Radvan

Abstract

2026 | Montreal | Volume 33

Susan Russick, Lea Faoro, and Lindsey Williams

Abstract

Lead was commonly used in books from the nineteenth century through the 1980s on publishers’ bindings, library applied bindings, and commercial binders. After XRF analysis of over 1,500 volumes, lead was detected in approximately 90% of materials, often with chromium. We conducted studies which included air monitoring, surface testing, waste characterization, and lead transfer from books. With the increased knowledge concerning lead in library collections, Northwestern has developed use policies for staff and patrons, which includes staff training, supervised use of materials, labeling, and housing.

2026 | Montreal | Volume 33

Megan Creamer

Abstract

This paper covers initial experimentation with using Copic marker blanks for toning and inpainting, using several alcohol solvent mixtures and dyes commonly used in conservation toning and inpainting of flexible fill materials. Solvent mixtures tested include ethanol, isopropanol, and water in different proportions. Dye exploration primarily focused on Sabraset, a line of 1:2 metal complex, azo and anthroquinone dyes for use on protein and polyamide polymers. Minimal exploration was also done with Orasol dyes, a line of mixed metal complex and other dye classes advertised for use on many types of substrates. Experimentation was done with multiple size and density marker nibs on various weights and structures of silk, nylon, and cellulose in both textile and paper materials, with results visualized for the Sabraset dyes. 

2026 | Montreal | Volume 33

Antonia Diewald and Ellen Moody

Abstract
Although vandalism, particularly in the form of graffiti, presents an ongoing challenge in the conservation of outdoor painted sculptures, studies on graffiti removal have largely focused on stone, murals, and bare metal substrates such as bronze. Comparatively little research has addressed primed and painted metal surfaces, despite their heightened sensitivity to solvent-based treatment methods. Addressing this research gap, this AIC and CAC-ACCR Joint Annual Meeting & Conference postprintpresents ongoing preliminary research undertaken for a Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) workshop on treatment strategies for painted outdoor sculpture exploring graffiti removal approaches tailored to these sensitive surfaces. 

The study focuses on common graffiti-removal solvents formulated as hydrogels, which were selected for their potential to provide safe and effective removal of common graffiti media from large painted metal surfaces while preserving the integrity of the paint layer beneath. These included polysaccharide‑based gel systems such as xanthan gum, konjac gum and agarose (KXA Gels), alongside PVOH–borax Gel systems that are typically prepared in‑house from commercially available materials.  

Mock-up samples consisting of aluminum panels coated with a multilayer outdoor polyurethane paint system were prepared and various graffiti media were subsequently applied to the painted surfaces to simulate different real-world conditions. Cleaning performance was assessed through visual examination, microscopy, and gloss measurements. The aim was to identify effective, safe, and sustainable cleaning systems for painted outdoor sculptures, supporting the development of improved conservation strategies. 

2026 | Montreal | Volume 33

Monika Jankowiak and Laura Lipcsei  

Abstract
To make our conservation photography setup more efficient, we created a simple, customizable labeling system using Lego strips and inexpensive alphanumeric tiles.

2026 | Montreal | Volume 33

Tony Sigel

Abstract
Three topics are discussed. 1. A recent marble cleaning project required a portable unit that could be transported in checked luggage. The Karcher SC3 Easyfix portable home steam cleaner waslightweight, reliable and robust enough to do the job.  

2. The author discusses his use of mylar masks to clean lacunae in marble surfaces without abrasion to adjacent surfaces. He also uses a small, powerful flashlight coupled to a clamp-on flexible arm, to produce a raking light for fill leveling.  

3. Projecting wire or dowel elements found in sculpture and other treatments are often hard to see end-on, are sharp and a threat to eye safety. Flagging and cushioning with colored tape and foam can increase visibility and provide cushioning from accidental contact. 

2026 | Montreal | Volume 33

David Thickett, C. Harvey, I. Bargagli, and F. Gherardi

Abstract
Detailed methods have been published to identify individual glass and stone objects that are unstable and require tighter environmental control. These use ion chromatography and non invasiveFourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR), which are not universally available within conservation. The more available method using scanning electron microscopy energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) has been tested for these applications. Colorimetric spot tests can be used by anyone and ones for sodium and potassium and the amount of swelling clay present have been assessed. The methods work, but require adaptions to the published methodology. The swelling clay test, needs sampling of stone, avoided with the FTIR. 

2026 | Montreal | Volume 33

Jennifer Correia and Allison Cummigs

Abstract

Created by Rob Howard for the 1939 Treasure Island Exposition, Whales originally anchored the Court of Whales before moving to various locations and storage sites. The sculpture was recently installed at the new Student Success Center at San Francisco City College (CCSF) after years of collaboration, conservation, and advocacy to restore this artwork.  The city’s press release opened with, “Sixteen-ton stone sculpture featuring two orca whales, once featured on Treasure Island at the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition, has been restored and reinstalled after two decades in storage.”  This sentence concisely summarizes years of teaming between the San Francisco Arts Commission and ARG Conservation Services (ARG/CS).

Typical of complex projects, the conservation team included a cast of thousands that would be expected for a much larger structure since there were extensive requirements for seismic and safety codes to install a public artwork on a college campus.  ARG/CS teamed with a structural engineer early in the design process, and the two entities worked closely with SFAC to safely shore and protect the sculpture during the conservation process.  

As a product of an International Exposition, it is likely that the sculpture was planned for a fairly temporary existence on Treasure Island. Instead, the sculpture was moved to Golden Gate Park in 1958 and became a fountain that delighted many San Franciscans for decades.  The fountain-slash-sculpture was moved to storage from this location in the early 2000s prior to a major re-development of the museums in the park.  Unfortunately, the initial move caused damage to the sculpture.  Standing roughly 10 feet tall by 14 feet wide by 18 feet deep, the sculpture features cast concrete that depict two intertwined orca whales.

This presentation will share and summarize the steps of this collaborative design-build conservation process. The team created base drawings for structural and conservation design, including mapping the individual cast concrete units that were held together with internal steel ties.  The sculpture was partially filled with concrete and brick rubble that surrounded internal steel pipes for the fountain plumbing.  Conservators and engineers worked together with a team of masons to decide on conservation strategies that would safely abandon the internal pipes, augment the structural integrity, and maintain the iconic aesthetic. 

The city, college, and conservators were dedicated to placing the artwork at CCSF, but there were challenges with securing a site and funding that resulted in multiple starts and stops to this project.  The presenters will share how they strategized to keep the sculpture safe during this process. As it usually goes, Murphy’s Law intervened, and the final construction schedule included aggressive deadlines to install the sculpture after years of waiting. The team jumped and brought the Whales back to life—cutting, drilling, grinding, shoring, pouring, filling, injecting, and coating 16 hollow cast-concrete pieces in a six-month restoration process.  The team grew and included everyone from artwork riggers, stainless steel fabricators, and inspectors.  This project creatively integrated a cross-disciplinary team with a happy ending and home for the Whales. 

2026 | Montreal | Volume 33

Isabel Schneider, Kate Wight Tyler, and Angela Leersnyder

Abstract

The treatment of a novel material often necessitates novel approaches, as illustrated by the recent treatment of a  a chair crafted from proprietary plastics in the 1970s at the Brooklyn Museum. Along with 35 other Italian Radical design works, the Brooklyn Museum was gifted an early Capitello model in 2023,  BkM 2023.76.7. Capitello is a chaise lounge designed in the form of a half-buried ionic capital that evokes neo-classical and pop design aesthetics.  Studio 65, an avant-garde experimental collective founded in Turin Italy by Franco Audrito and Piero Gatti that evolved into an architecture studio, designed Capitello to showcase their new plastic material “dacron” in the 1971 DuPont Competition. The original prototypes were made of soft polyurethane ether polymers and coated in a proprietary coating trademarked Guflac®.The chair was formally manufactured a year later by Gufram, a pioneering Italian furniture brand. The praise the chair earned in Turin’s Eurodomus expo that year inspired Studio 65 to push the project further with the Attica modular furniture series. The series’ radical humor (their marketing slogan was “to sit on the past”) and resistance against traditional functionality made it an “iconic” work that has been continuously manufactured and collected for over a century and inspired generations of pop artists, architects, and designers.  

The work seems increasingly like a degraded relic than merely an evocation of one. The coating on this early model is darkening, embrittling, and cracking, and there are large areas of coating loss.  In the areas where the coating has been lost and the foam is exposed to light, the underlying polyurethane foam is in significantly worse condition than areas where the coating is intact, suggesting the coating likely protected the foam from photooxidation degradation previously. FTIR testing of the foam and coating will help determine compatibility of various consolidants. Consolidants will also contain UV-blocking agents to ensure long-term stability.  

After cleaning and surface consolidation, the losses of the underlying foam and the surface coating will be filled with novel foams created from compatible materials using the “double syringe” technique. Various materials are being tested to create both foams that can fill the losses of the internal  foam and those capable of emulating the  “skin” of the exterior surface coating, including cellulose ethers, biomaterial composites, and blends of cellulose ethers and acrylate copolymers. The materials tested have all been well-researched as conservation materials in other capacities (i.e. not foams), although this application method will be novel. This treatment will serve not only aesthetic treatment objectives but also add an additional layer of protection for the original materials against light and UV radiation. They will have different solubility sensitivities than the original materials, making them distinguishable and reversible in the future. Developing more sustainable toolkits for conservators aligns with the Brooklyn Museum’s values and mission, and most of the materials being explored are made of low-cost renewable materials. In addition to discussing the materials chosen for this work, this talk will also explore other foam materials explored, hopefully inspiring future explorations. 

2026 | Montreal | Volume 33

Susan Costello, Kate Smith, Marina Klinger, Georgina Rayner, Katherine Eremin, and Cassandra Albinson

Abstract

A painted plaster version of Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux’s (1827-1875) Why Born Enslaved! entered the Harvard Art Museums in 2021 as part of a bequest from Arthur K. and Mariot F. Solomon. The sculpture depicts the bust of a bound, partially nude woman of African decent in a twisting pose with an anguished expression. Carpeaux developed the composition in 1868 from studies for the figure of “Africa” in The Fountain of the Observatory in Paris. The artist first exhibited a marble version at the Paris Salon of 1869 and subsequently produced multiple versions in plaster, terracotta, bronze, and marble. Research suggests Harvard’s example is a 20th-century unsanctioned after-cast. Prior to exhibition, the bust underwent extensive conservation treatment involving close collaboration among objects and paintings conservators, curators, and scientists.

At acquisition, the bust was in poor condition and unsuitable for display. Scientific analysis of the paint layers confirmed at least three previous restoration campaigns. Her face had been overpainted with black paint, obscuring the distinction between skin and hair. Thick bronze overpaint covered the clothing and base, while darkened and crazed varnish further obscured the surface. The sculpture also exhibited widespread flaking and significant plaster and paint losses.

Treatment aimed to stabilize the surface and return the sculpture as close as possible to its original appearance. After consolidation, varnish and overpaint removal began. This step was challenging due to the varying paint solubility from color to color requiring discussions and extensive testing to determine an effective solution. For example, reducing the bronze overpaint included solvent-dampened cotton pads, solvent applied with Evolon, mechanical removal, and Nd:YAG laser cleaning. Once complete, it revealed the clothing was originally painted red and the base black.

Reducing the black restoration paint on the face also revealed original details such as red lips, black eyebrows, and nuanced whites and reds in the eyes, and reestablished the visual contrast between the skin and hair. Remarkably, shards of glass found in the eye socket suggested the original eyes were inlaid glass. With no definitive reference, the eyes were restored based on a similar sculpture with plaster eyes. The treatment concluded with loss compensation and retouching, bringing the sculpture closer to its original appearance and able to be displayed in the special exhibition, The Solomon Collection: Durer to Degas and Beyond from May 24, 2025-August 17, 2025.

Conservation of the bust not only stabilized and transformed the sculpture but also opened new avenues for teaching and discussion. Created in the wake of the Civil War in the United States, but two decades after the abolition of slavery in France, Why Born Enslaved! can be read as both a powerful condemnation of slavery and a troubling image of racialized bondage, objectification, and violence. Her life-size scale and realistically painted surface create an immediate personal connection that invites reflection and encourages critical conversations about ethical conservation practices, slavery, racism, and the depiction of race.

2026 | Montreal | Volume 33