Reviving WHAAM! a comparative evaluation of cleaning systems for the conservation treatment of Roy Lichtenstein’s iconic painting

Abstract

Roy Lichtenstein's Whaam! (1963) is an iconic artwork in Tate's collection (T00897). Over the past 50 years, the painting has been on almost continuous display and had accrued a layer of deposited soiling, which resulted in the dampening of Lichtenstein's vibrant colours and the masking of numerous subtleties across the painting surface. This paper outlines the design and execution of an optimal soiling removal strategy for this challenging work; utilising collaborative, practice-based research. The conservation treatment employed was derived through an iterative process that reflected and supported the conservation decision-making process. The research strands included: technical and art historical investigations to determine the materials and construction of Whaam! and to define the aims of the conservation treatment; preparation of accelerated aged and artificially soiled test (mock-up) paint samples based on contemporary equivalent materials and a comparative evaluation of a range of established and novel soil-removal systems, followed by further tailoring for use on the work of art. The range of cleaning systems evaluated included free-solvents, gels and emulsifiers; which were documented using star diagrams, digital microscopy and infrared spectroscopy. After a rigorous process of assessment and refinement, the strategy taken forward to Whaam! included the use of a polyvinyl alcohol-based polymeric hydrogel (Nanorestore Gel ® Peggy 6), uploaded with tailored aqueous solutions. This process facilitated a low risk, controlled and even-removal of the soiling layer, enabling the successful treatment of this sensitive painting for the first time in the painting's history.

Twin-Chain Polymer Networks Loaded With Nanostructured Fluids for the Selective Removal of a Non-Original Varnish From the Picasso’s “L’atelier” at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice

“…They are flexible and elastic, and their controlled release of uploaded fluids grants the possibility of varying the fluids contact time with the paint surface, controlling the interaction between solvents and paint layers. These features have already established the TC-PNs as suitable tools for the cleaning of modern and contemporary art in previous case studies [1,36,37], which proved that their synthetic process can be feasibly tuned and changed in order to vary the gels' characteristics and to adapt them to specific needs. The loading of the gel with the NSF was obtained simply by immersing a piece of gel in an excess of NSF for at least 24 hours, according to our previous experiments with these systems.…”

Facilitating the conservation treatment of Eva Hesse’s Addendum through practice-based research, including a comparative evaluation of novel cleaning systems

“…how soil-free the surface appears after cleaning and clearance steps); pigment pickup (assessed by inspecting the cotton swab after use); surface integrity (judging the dry surface by eye after cleaning relative to the unsoiled control); swelling/blanching noted (as judged by eye and/or using microscopy). For each parameter of interest, the cleaning fluids were rated on a scale from 1 (inadequate/poor) to 5 (most appropriate); the collected data were then recorded and presented as star diagrams (Excel Radar Charts) adjusted from previous research [15,[21][22][23], where larger stars represent more suitable systems. 3.…”

“…Similarly to the conservation treatment on Roy Lichtenstein's painting Whaam! [15], the cleaning materials were chosen from a range of established and novel options to achieve the most appropriate approach(es) for Addendum. Unlike Whaam!…”

“…Unlike Whaam! [15] which required the use of the same cleaning system across the entire painting surface, the varied construction of Addendum afforded the use of different cleaning systems. One key requirement for Addendum was flexibility, so that potential system(s) could be tailored to each area to account for differences in texture, solvent sensitivity and soiling adhesion.…”

“…The present study, alongside the conservation treatment of Roy Lichtenstein's painting Whaam! carried out as part of the same project [15], contributes to this ongoing area of investigation through rigorous practice-based research, primarily focused into an extensive comparative study of a range of both established and novel soiling removal systems.…”