InformationWeek: The Business Value of Technology

InformationWeek: The Business Value of Technology
e2 Conference & Expo - Boston 2013
Using Technology In An Art Conservation Lab

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The Stone Hill Center in Williamstown, Mass. is the home of the Williamstown Art Conservation Center (WACC), the largest regional conservation center in the country. The 32,000-square-foot structure houses two galleries in addition to lab space.

The Stone Hill Center in Williamstown, Mass. is the home of the Williamstown Art Conservation Center (WACC), the largest regional conservation center in the country. The 32,000-square-foot structure houses two galleries in addition to lab space.  The WACC is restoring gloves from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, NY. The gloves date from around 1910 to 1950. Surface cleaning is done to address seepage of leather dressings and oils, applied during the gloves' serviceable lifetime. The oils contribute to the corrosion of metal components (grommets, buckles, etc.) which are treated mechanically to remove corrosion. Tears are mended, seams secured, fillings replaced. Old repairs to the gloves are retained as evidence of use by their owners. Treatment time for each glove ranges from 6 to 22 hrs, with an average of about 13 hours per glove.  Adam Nesbit, Assistant Conservator in Objects at WACC said of his work with the gloves from Cooperstown,   X-rays are taken primarily of paintings and some objects and furniture, due to the kilovoltage limitations of the WACC's present equipment (up to 110 KV). The staff use a portable Picker unit, and the room is specially outfitted with lead-lined walls. Controls are operated from an adjoining department. Xian Zhang, Department Head of Analytical Services at WACC explains that most paintings are shot within the following parameters: 4-5 milliamperes, 3-5 minutes, 30-59 kilovolts at a distance of about 70  X-Ray images are taken on standard medical 14x17  Analytical equipment including an electron microscope.  Nederman   WACC uses Windows software on a PC network. Project tracking is done with an Access database, reinforced by handwritten logs, both of which are stored indefinitely. WACC uses a museum-style accession numbering system for all artwork brought to the Center. In accordance with industry guidelines, conservation reports and images are stored indefinitely, both in digital and paper form. The Center switched to corporate Gmail last year for mail and calendaring,   The building is optimally sited so that the paintings lab is fully exposed to northern light, which is preferred for some restoration work.  Higher-tech tools and techniques such as the use of raking or angled light, can reveal problems such as flaking paint or anomalies in a canvas. Painting experts may also discern clues about the artist or painting from brushwork examined under raking light. Reflected, ultraviolet, and infrared light may also be used to detect details the naked eye cannot see.  A room-size elevator accommodates furniture and large objects.  Busts awaiting evaluation or restoration before a north-facing window.  Stone Hill Center opened at the The Sterling and Francine Art Institute in Williamstown, Mass. in June 2008. 


The Stone Hill Center in Williamstown, Mass. is the home of the Williamstown Art Conservation Center (WACC), the largest regional conservation center in the country. The 32,000-square-foot structure houses two galleries in addition to lab space.