Part One in a series of blog posts on the ongoing technical examination of a purported 1874 Alfred Sisley Impressionist painting.

Has a crime been committed?  Where will the evidence lead?  I recently began teaching a course for graduate students in IUPUI’s Chemistry and Biological Chemistry department and the Forensic and Investigative Sciences (FIS) program. The course, Chemical Analysis in the Detection of Fakes, Forgeries, and Misattributions, explores the role of the physical sciences in unmasking ersatz artworks.  But this isn’t like any normal seminar course – the students not only receive lectures on the chemistry of artists’ materials and the instrumentation used to characterize them, they also work with me in the laboratory scrutinizing, imaging, sampling, and analyzing an artwork from the museum’s collection.

Painting attributed to Alfred Sisley (1839-1899), “House in a Village,” dated at bottom, May 16, 1874, oil on canvas, James E. Roberts Fund, 52.33.

For the past two weeks, the students have been learning about the IMA’s Impressionist painting, House in a Village, ascribed to the hand of the British painter Alfred Sisley who spent his adult life working in France. IMA Associate Curator for Research, Annette Schlagenhauff, has had her suspicions about the Sisley painting, which was purchased by the museum in 1952 for $3000. Many of the questions arise from the notorious scandal in 1962 in which many of the paintings included in a touring exhibition of Walter P. Chrysler Jr.’s collection were refuted by art experts as fakes. These paintings included works by the likes of Monet, Picasso, Matisse, and yes, two by Alfred Sisley.  The relationship between these debunked artworks and the IMA’s painting exists in the dealer responsible for both sales, J. P. Hartert of New York City.  Dr. Schlagenhauff has examined the museum’s documentation on the sale, including letters from Mr. Hartert to the museum’s curator.  Through online databases she has tracked the painting’s dubious provenance provided by Hartert, identifying several non-existent collectors and fictitious “experts” who are said to have owned or examined the painting.  These discrepancies, while troubling, do not necessarily invalidate the work.  Dr. Schlagenhauff’s challenge to the class is to identify any anachronisms in materials or inconsistencies in technique that would clearly place the painting outside the lifetime and painting style of Alfred Sisley. Stay tuned…

The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and the United Nations have declared 2011 the International Year of Chemistry.  An entire year’s worth of programming across the globe will “celebrate the achievements of chemistry and its contributions to the well-being of humankind.”  National chemistry societies, universities, and corporations are recognizing the Year of Chemistry by hosting a variety of events that highlight the role of chemistry in our everyday lives.  The IMA, although regularly considered an arts-based institution, has recently added a state-of-the-art chemical research and analysis laboratory to its conservation department.  In recognition of the new role of science at the IMA, I accepted an invitation from the Turkish Chemical Society to conduct a weeklong speaking tour of research universities in Istanbul, promoting the role of chemistry in the understanding and preservation of cultural patrimony.

View from Galata Tower across the “Golden Horn” toward the Old City of Istanbul.

While in Istanbul, I presented three hour long seminars on various aspects of conservation science, including research on artwork authentication, the use of lasers in the study and treatment of degraded artists’ pigments, and the theory and technology of near-infrared imaging of artwork.  In addition to lecturing, I was also able to tour the myriad of Turkish cultural landmarks in Istanbul such as the Topkapi Palace, Galata Tower, Haiga Sofia, and the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (photo below).

As a cultural crossroads for centuries, Istanbul is the home of many world treasures.  I was fortunate to get several “behind the scenes” tours of some of Istanbul’s top academic and government laboratories dedicated to the preservation and study of these objects.  Tours and consultations included the newly outfitted instrumental analysis labs at the Süleymaniye Library and the Directorate of Conservation Restoration Implementation and Supervision on Historic Heritage (KUDEB).  I look forward to collaborating with my new colleagues in Turkey as they host the upcoming 2^nd International Congress on Chemistry for Cultural Heritage.

Construction is underway on the IMA’s new conservation science facility. This re-purposed area of the museum was demolished to the studs in a matter of hours once Hagerman construction group’s crew arrived on site last week. It was truly amazing to see how quickly this whole corner of the Museum could be disassembled, carted away, recycled, and laid bare.

It was also interesting what a psychological effect the demolition had. Although I anticipated the space looking much larger once it was opened up, it surprisingly felt much less spacious. Still, the whole facility is a very generous 2000 square feet of useable laboratory, office, and conference room space.

As a colleague noted, “Anyone can disassemble the Space Shuttle, putting it back together is another thing!” Now begins the much slower and deliberate steps of reassembling the space into a state-of-the-art research and analysis facility. Planning for the construction only took about 3 months from the time of my arrival in Indianapolis this January, but much thought went into each step of the reconstruction.

There were a myriad of technical issues that had to be sorted out to supply the instrumental stations with the necessary compressed gases, electrical, water, vacuum, and ventilation systems. In addition, several structural changes were made to the space to accommodate the greening of the museum. For instance, three new sub-zero, heavily insulated windows will replace the previous panes in order to preserve and regulate the interior climate of the lab while also eliminating UV radiation. These replacements are necessary because the lab will host museum artworks undergoing in situ nondestructive analysis, and so the spaces must meet the same climate, lighting, and security guidelines as the conservation studios and museum galleries.

In addition, the science wing extends out from the museum’s envelope, and the 3 exterior walls are all ‘furred out’ approximately 4 inches with a new metal stud and sheetrock wall. This improves on the original construction, which comprised a thin Styrofoam insulation layer directly on top of the exterior concrete wall, providing a less than ample thermal barrier. The new wall cavity will allow for additional insulation and a stronger framing for anchoring cabinetry, hanging artwork, running interior conduit, and installing instrumentation.

With all the work ongoing for the physical lab space, behind the scenes the conservation department is assembling the reference materials used as comparative samples for artists’ materials studies (e.g. the pigment collection below), as well as determining the research and technical study priorities for the museum.

We are on track to open the lab in early Fall with a full complement of scientific instrumentation and a large list of research projects!