Photograph conservation
Encyclopedia
Photograph conservation is the study of the physical care and treatment of photographic materials, including an in-depth understanding of how photographs are made, and the causes and prevention of deterioration. Conservators use this knowledge to treat photographic materials, stabilizing them from further deterioration, and sometimes restoring them for aesthetic purposes. Photograph conservation is distinguished from digital or optical restoration, which are concerned with a copy of the original image rather than the original photographic material.
While conservation can improve the appearance of a photograph, image quality is not the primary purpose of conservation. Enjoyment of the photographic image is generally enhanced by viewing a print in good condition and without disfiguring stains, tears, or other image or object deterioration. Therefore, conservators will try to improve the visual appearance of a photograph as much as possible, while also ensuring its long-term survival, and adhering to their Code of Ethics.
Connoisseurship is a field in which photograph conservators often play an important role. Their understanding of the physical object and its structure makes them uniquely suited to a technical examination of the photograph, which can reveal clues about how, when, and where it was made.
Photograph preservation, the preventive care of photograph collections, is an important aspect of conservation. Recent decades have seen an increasing awareness of the need for preventive conservation through proper climate control and high-quality storage facilities.
Materials addressed by photograph conservators range from the early daguerreotype
, ambrotype
, and tintype images of the 19th century, to the gelatin silver
and chromogenic
prints of the 20th century, and even the digital printing
processes of today. Photograph conservation does not normally include moving image materials, which by their nature require a very different approach. Film preservation
concerns itself with these materials.
In the art world, there is another side to this issue that is concerned with the monetary value of an image. Galleries in the Chelsea
neighborhood of New York City
send new works to conservation facilities in order to assure new collectors that an art purchase will become a financially solvent investment. Some skeptics ascertain that art conservation practices exist for the preservation of investments and not for the care of fine art. When artists offer older works or pieces created during their art education that have not been treated by conservators, galleries face a difficult situation because later conservation efforts could jeopardize aesthetics and, as the skeptics argue, will simply not earn the gallery as much money because they can’t be guaranteed. These works often cannot be preserved at all. Most living photographers have begun to produce their recent works using sophisticated film technologies and durable papers. If modern photographs cannot be salvaged without significant threat to content, older items of significance present an even larger problem to the preservation community.
Art historians commonly place a high value on untouched, original works despite their current condition. Limiting preservation to the best practice standards established by the preservation community is advised. This philosophy benefits future researchers who will value these images for their content and context. We must examine carefully the changes we decide to make when preserving an object, as these repairs will be permanent. In color photography, a balance between viable preservation of context should be weighted carefully with the same in the content.
An important way in which old photographs can be preserved for posterity is by scanning the image and converting into a digital file. The same method then also allows access by a much wider public, especially where the images have intrinsic historic value. For example, the photographic collection of the Tay Bridge disaster
of 1879 made by the request of the official inquiry have been digitised and disseminated more widely. Only the positive prints survive, owing to the widespread practice of recycling the original glass negatives to reclaim the silver
content. Even when carefully preserved and kept in the dark, damage can occur through intermittent exposure to light, as shown by damage to the image of the intact bridge (at right).
(AIC). The Photographic Materials Group (PMG) is a specialty group within the AIC concerned with photograph conservation. The International Council of Museums Committee for Conservation (ICOM-CC) is an international conservation organization with a Photographic Records Working Group analogous to PMG.
, though many have also been trained through apprenticeship
. They often have backgrounds in art history
, chemistry, or photography. Graduate schools in art conservation in the United States have been established at New York University
, Buffalo State College
, University of Delaware
, and The University of Texas at Austin
. Postgraduate training is generally done by fellow
ships such as those currently offered, by the generosity of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
, in the Advanced Residency Program in Photograph Conservation at the George Eastman House
.
While conservation can improve the appearance of a photograph, image quality is not the primary purpose of conservation. Enjoyment of the photographic image is generally enhanced by viewing a print in good condition and without disfiguring stains, tears, or other image or object deterioration. Therefore, conservators will try to improve the visual appearance of a photograph as much as possible, while also ensuring its long-term survival, and adhering to their Code of Ethics.
Connoisseurship is a field in which photograph conservators often play an important role. Their understanding of the physical object and its structure makes them uniquely suited to a technical examination of the photograph, which can reveal clues about how, when, and where it was made.
Conservation Techniques
Conservation treatments range from very simple tear repairs or flattening to more complex treatments such as stain removal. Treatments vary widely depending on the type of photograph and its intended use.Photograph preservation, the preventive care of photograph collections, is an important aspect of conservation. Recent decades have seen an increasing awareness of the need for preventive conservation through proper climate control and high-quality storage facilities.
Materials addressed by photograph conservators range from the early daguerreotype
Daguerreotype
The daguerreotype was the first commercially successful photographic process. The image is a direct positive made in the camera on a silvered copper plate....
, ambrotype
Ambrotype
right|thumb|Many ambrotypes were made by unknown photographers, such as this American example of a small girl holding a flower, circa 1860. Because of their fragility ambrotypes were held in folding cases much like those used for [[daguerreotype]]s...
, and tintype images of the 19th century, to the gelatin silver
Gelatin silver print
Gelatin silver prints were the dominant photographic process nearly from the period of their introduction in the 1880s until the 1960s when they were eclipsed by consumer color photography. As such, the gelatin silver or black-and-white print represents a primary form of visual documentation in the...
and chromogenic
Chromogenic
Chromogenic refers to color photographic processes in which a traditional silver image is first formed, and then later replaced with a colored dye image.- Description :...
prints of the 20th century, and even the digital printing
Digital photography
Digital photography is a form of photography that uses an array of light sensitive sensors to capture the image focused by the lens, as opposed to an exposure on light sensitive film...
processes of today. Photograph conservation does not normally include moving image materials, which by their nature require a very different approach. Film preservation
Film preservation
thumb|300px|Stacked containers filled with reels of [[film stock]]The film preservation, or film restoration, movement is an ongoing project among film historians, archivists, museums, cinematheques, and non-profit organizations to rescue decaying film stock and preserve the images which they contain...
concerns itself with these materials.
Photograph degradation, preservation, and artistic value
A long life expectancy also requires minimal usage and maximum storage, but art and historical artifacts exist for consumption and enrichment and without exhibition these objects have no public audience. Reading rooms requiring lengthy application processes for use and rigid security measures limit their consumers to scholars, researchers and students. Digitization of collections at the item level will help to create surrogates that can be used for research purposes, lessening use of the original photograph. Limited access to a collection undermines the motivation for preservation by marginalizing the population who stands to benefit from a preserved item. Photographs have the potential to reach across language barriers with their implied meanings, and so the original content should be considered of value. The time an item spends away from its repository and waiting for repairs is wasted time that might be better used being available to researchers. Deterioration of an object can detract from the item's original value. Preservation is a means of maintaining that value.In the art world, there is another side to this issue that is concerned with the monetary value of an image. Galleries in the Chelsea
Chelsea, Manhattan
Chelsea is a neighborhood on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The district's boundaries are roughly 14th Street to the south, 30th Street to the north, the western boundary of the Ladies' Mile Historic District – which lies between the Avenue of the Americas and...
neighborhood of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
send new works to conservation facilities in order to assure new collectors that an art purchase will become a financially solvent investment. Some skeptics ascertain that art conservation practices exist for the preservation of investments and not for the care of fine art. When artists offer older works or pieces created during their art education that have not been treated by conservators, galleries face a difficult situation because later conservation efforts could jeopardize aesthetics and, as the skeptics argue, will simply not earn the gallery as much money because they can’t be guaranteed. These works often cannot be preserved at all. Most living photographers have begun to produce their recent works using sophisticated film technologies and durable papers. If modern photographs cannot be salvaged without significant threat to content, older items of significance present an even larger problem to the preservation community.
Art historians commonly place a high value on untouched, original works despite their current condition. Limiting preservation to the best practice standards established by the preservation community is advised. This philosophy benefits future researchers who will value these images for their content and context. We must examine carefully the changes we decide to make when preserving an object, as these repairs will be permanent. In color photography, a balance between viable preservation of context should be weighted carefully with the same in the content.
Digitisation
Tay Bridge disaster
The Tay Bridge disaster occurred on 28 December 1879, when the first Tay Rail Bridge, which crossed the Firth of Tay between Dundee and Wormit in Scotland, collapsed during a violent storm while a train was passing over it. The bridge was designed by the noted railway engineer Sir Thomas Bouch,...
of 1879 made by the request of the official inquiry have been digitised and disseminated more widely. Only the positive prints survive, owing to the widespread practice of recycling the original glass negatives to reclaim the silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
content. Even when carefully preserved and kept in the dark, damage can occur through intermittent exposure to light, as shown by damage to the image of the intact bridge (at right).
Conservation Organizations
In the United States, the national membership organization of conservation professionals is the American Institute for ConservationAmerican Institute for Conservation
The American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works supports the conservation professionals who preserve our cultural heritage...
(AIC). The Photographic Materials Group (PMG) is a specialty group within the AIC concerned with photograph conservation. The International Council of Museums Committee for Conservation (ICOM-CC) is an international conservation organization with a Photographic Records Working Group analogous to PMG.
Education and Training
Photograph conservators can be found in museums, archives, and libraries, as well as in private practice. Conservators often have earned their Master’s degrees in art conservationArt conservation and restoration
Conservation-restoration, also referred to as conservation, is a profession devoted to the preservation of cultural heritage for the future. Conservation activities include examination, documentation, treatment, and preventive care...
, though many have also been trained through apprenticeship
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
. They often have backgrounds in art history
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
, chemistry, or photography. Graduate schools in art conservation in the United States have been established at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, Buffalo State College
Buffalo State College
The State University of New York College at Buffalo, referred to as Buffalo State College, often referred to colloquially as Buff State, is a public, liberal arts college in Buffalo, New York, United States and is part of the State University of New York. Buffalo State was founded in 1871 as the...
, University of Delaware
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...
, and The University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
. Postgraduate training is generally done by fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
ships such as those currently offered, by the generosity of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York City and Princeton, New Jersey in the United States, is a private foundation with five core areas of interest, endowed with wealth accumulated by the late Andrew W. Mellon of the Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the product of the 1969...
, in the Advanced Residency Program in Photograph Conservation at the George Eastman House
George Eastman House
The George Eastman House is the world's oldest museum dedicated to photography and one of the world's oldest film archives, opened to the public in 1949 in Rochester, New York, USA. World-renowned for its photograph and motion picture archives, the museum is also a leader in film preservation and...
.
Conservation Training Programs in the United States
- Buffalo State College
- The Institute of Fine Arts- New York University
- The University of Delaware
- The University of Texas at Austin