A fellow tempera painter recently made me aware that Wyeth’s painting, Groundhog Day, is displayed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art under a plexiglass box because it’s flaking off in parts. While Wyeth was an artistic genius in his handling of egg tempera and design/compositional abilities, he was not, as Dr. Stoner has noted previously on this forum, “a stickler for technique”. (see https://www.artcons.udel.edu/mitra/forums/question?QID=332). I can think of many reasons his paintings might peel (uncertain ground, uncertain tempering, working on an aged paint film, adding ingredients like leaves and mud to the paint – he did all of the above!), but conservators are there is to address a great artist’s idiosyncrasies. If the painting is visibly peeling, it’s hard to imagine a major museum wouldn’t attend to it. Is it a matter of not enough resources (a perennial issue for museums, I’m sure), or no trained egg tempera conservator on staff, or….? Thoughts?
Koo Schadler
I see on the museum’s website the painting isn’t on display – perhaps in the conservation lab?
Posted for Dr. Stoner
Dear Koo, I’m not sure your fellow tempera painter was entirely accurate in the assessment made.
We have learned that many people love to “fondle” Wyeth temperas and touch the Plexiglas glazing over the paintings, making smears —
When AW was still alive, he used to HATE plexi but when he saw all the smears on the plexis after the retrospective at the PMA, he said “okay”!
Plexi is there because of the visitor touching and also because the temperas are not varnished and have especially sensitive surfaces.
I know the PMA would never have a painting on exhibition that was actively “peeling” — they have a full staff of excellent conservators.
Because the egg tempera medium (especially when young and impacted by RH changes) effloresces powdery stearic and palmitic acids, many people misinterpret the white powder as “losses.” Usually this powder can be just brushed away and does not harm the painting.
As you suggest, AW would get into an excited painting mode and sometimes use too much water diluent to get a watercolor effect or would layer areas of the tempera to change a roofline or some such (not a good idea) and there can be dot losses or tiny lifting due to the tempera being underbound. These losses can be safely consolidated or retouched with reversible “inpainting” by conservators. Sometimes AW was a bit of a “micro Jackson Pollock” with splashings! But the PMA staff is highly responsible!
Dr. Joyce Hill Stoner
Thank so much, Joyce, for that clarifiction – I’m delighted to hear it. I was amazed at what I’d heard but assumed the painter had seen what he’d said; I will clarify for him and the site he posted on that Wyeth’s paintings are well cared for. By the way, the posting (on Artists and Patrons of Egg Tempera, Facebook), before it took a tangential turn into the condition of Groundhog Day, started off as a link to the article “Conserving and Conversing”, with a photo of you and Wyeth. I posted on the site references to other writings by you (see below), which are equal parts helpful for tempera painters (as a glimpse into Wyeth’s methods) and entertaining; what a personality he was (!), as well as an inspiration, for his fidelity to his methods and vision.
Always happy to hear your voice on MITRA.
Koo
Stoner, Joyce Hill. A Closer Look. Delaware Art Museum, 1998. Catalog for an exhibit of work by Howard Pyle and three generations of Wyeths (N.C., Andrew and Jamie) that took place at the Farnsworth and Delaware Art Museums,1998-99.
Stoner, Joyce Hill. Erasing the Boundary between the Artist and the Conservator. AIC Paintings Specialty Group Postprints, 2000.
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