Keeping acrylic paintings clean poses big challenges

Public release date: 19-Oct-2011
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Contact: Michael Bernstein
m_bernstein@acs.org
202-872-6042
American Chemical Society

With the first acrylic paintings the medium made famous by artists like Mark Rothko, Andy Warhol, Robert Motherwell, and David Hockney pushing 60 years of age, scientists specializing in art conservation are seeking ways to rejuvenate these paintings and keep them looking their best. That's the topic of an article in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the American Chemical Society's weekly newsmagazine.

In the article, C&EN Senior Editor Celia Henry Arnaud explains that acrylic paints were invented in the 1940s, with the first wave of acrylic paintings in museum and private collections now between 50 and 60 years of age. They quickly became an artistic mainstay, along with the familiar oil paints that have been used for centuries. One main difference: Oil paints can take weeks or month to dry. Acrylics, which are water-based, dry fast, often in hours.

The additives that hold acrylic paints together in the liquid stage, in tubes and on artists' brushes and palates, are emerging as a problem. The additives make acrylic paints dirt-collectors, unusually sensitive to soiling over the years. C&EN describes the difficulty that conservators are having in cleaning acrylic paintings, and scientific research on the best ways of keeping acrylics looking fresh and young over the years.

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The American Chemical Society is a non-profit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 163,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society contact newsroom@acs.org.

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Public release date: 19-Oct-2011
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Michael Bernstein
m_bernstein@acs.org
202-872-6042
American Chemical Society

With the first acrylic paintings the medium made famous by artists like Mark Rothko, Andy Warhol, Robert Motherwell, and David Hockney pushing 60 years of age, scientists specializing in art conservation are seeking ways to rejuvenate these paintings and keep them looking their best. That's the topic of an article in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the American Chemical Society's weekly newsmagazine.

In the article, C&EN Senior Editor Celia Henry Arnaud explains that acrylic paints were invented in the 1940s, with the first wave of acrylic paintings in museum and private collections now between 50 and 60 years of age. They quickly became an artistic mainstay, along with the familiar oil paints that have been used for centuries. One main difference: Oil paints can take weeks or month to dry. Acrylics, which are water-based, dry fast, often in hours.

The additives that hold acrylic paints together in the liquid stage, in tubes and on artists' brushes and palates, are emerging as a problem. The additives make acrylic paints dirt-collectors, unusually sensitive to soiling over the years. C&EN describes the difficulty that conservators are having in cleaning acrylic paintings, and scientific research on the best ways of keeping acrylics looking fresh and young over the years.

###

The American Chemical Society is a non-profit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 163,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society contact newsroom@acs.org.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-10/acs-kap101911.php

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