145: State of the Art

The History of Chemistry

In which we learn about the beginnings of chemistry applied to art conservation, from the initial attempts by Edward Forbes, but especially when he hired Rutherford John Gettens. We discuss Harvard University's Pigment Collection, plus various analytical tools chemists use to examine art, both light-based and non-light-based. We talk of several institutions with strong chemical applications for art conservation. Finally we examine the problems of modern products--polymers--that need to be preserved, from toys to photographic film.

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