First, do no harm

A portrait of Gordon George McCrae is the latest addition to be welcomed in to the national collection at the Library.  The Preservation Services unit collaborated with their colleagues in the Pictures and Manuscripts team in their assessment of this new acquisition by renowned Australian artist, Tom Roberts. The portrait is a beautiful example of Roberts’ craftsmanship and attention to expressive detail.  The work is dated 1927, the year of McCrae’s passing, and according to the inscription on the back, was drawn in Hawthorn, Melbourne.

The team’s assessment of the portrait of George Gordon McCrae, who has been dubbed the ‘Father of Victorian Poetry’, is a snapshot of the process all new acquisitions undergo once they have been accepted by the Library.

The portrait was deframed for closer inspection, where it was found that the canvas was actually secured to a small piece of artist primed board. Once the frame had been removed, inscriptions were discovered on the back of the work which revealed important historical information relating to the artist, where the work was created and manufacturing information of the artist primed board.

Testing of the media found that the work was in a very stable and sound condition. The work has traces of a graphite under drawing. Identification for the sepia toned media was inconclusive, but could possibly be a sepia coloured oil paint diluted with turpentine or a watercolour wash.

Microscopic image of the letter ‘R’ of the artists’ signature.

Microscopic image of the letter ‘R’ of the artists’ signature.

Solubility testing of the media using the ten drop blot test.

Solubility testing of the media using the ten drop blot test.

The preservation team also assessed the acidity of the backing board and the canvas. Acidity testing, or pH testing, can assist a conservator in making an informed treatment decision, and more importantly, an informed decision about when it’s not necessary to intervene with the original state of an item. The presence of acidic products can cause brittleness and degradation of a collection item over a period of time.

pH testing was conducted with an ExStik™ pH meter.

pH testing was conducted with an ExStik™ pH meter.

Roberts’ portrait of George Gordon McCrae showed no signs of degradation and returned neutral results after testing for the presence of strong acid products. Based on our testing, the team decided it was in the best interest of the work to not intervene with its original format by separating the canvas from the backing board.

The preservation team endorses best ethical practice, especially in striking the balance between preventive practice and invasive conservation treatment. This case study demonstrates the conservator’s mantra to first do no harm when undertaking a treatment and to ensure that invasive treatments are only undertaken when it is in the best interest of an item.

Strips of masking tape will be removed from the back of the work where it was taped into a frame. A custom built box will be made to house the new acquisition and it will be returned to the care of the Pictures and Manuscripts team to be catalogued and placed within the collection.

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11 Responses to “First, do no harm”

  1. Greg Sorenson @

    What a fantastic acquisition to the National Library of Australia! It would appear that important artefacts such as this Roberts portrait are in good hands. Well done to the preservation team, i look forward to seeing what other treasures you work on.

  2. Laura Curtis @

    An intriguing peak into the Library’s ever expanding collection and great insight into the conservation process!

  3. What an excellent find! – Good to see the National Library doing an excellent job preserving the historic work of one of Australia’s great Impressionists. Well Done!

  4. What a super blog! It is fascinating to hear about the great work at the NLA. I especially like the microscopic image of the artist signature and canvas weave. Great post and good luck with the final stages of treatment.

  5. Really fascinating to learn about the work that goes into preserving our heritage. Thanks!

  6. What a coincidence! I’ve got letters from this gentlemen on my desk at work right now. I work for a cultural institution and they are a donation.

  7. Always nice to hear what is happening in our cultural institutions. I like that the decision was to leave as is keeping the historical integrity of the work intact and what a lovely work it is…

  8. McCrae was an interesting poet in Australia in the late Victorian era – one of his poems was included in the first anthology of Australian poetry I ever remember opening. His son, Hugh McCrae, was also an important poet. Wish I worked at the NLA!

  9. Thanks for sharing that with us. Wonderful to know how our cultural material is being looked after by our major cultural institutions.

  10. I hadn’t heard of this ExStik pH meter before. Looks like it might be useful in our paper/book conservation lab. Looking around the Web, it seems to get mixed reviews. How long have you been using it, and do you have any tips for a prospective buyer?

  11. Melanie Wilkinson @

    HI Lisa,

    Thanks so much for checking out the NLA preservation blog.

    We use the ExStik meter in our lab as well as Ph strips for testing – so we don’t necessarily have a preference for either.

    The ExStik does require maintenance and needs to be calibrated before each use. We have had the meter in our lab for three years.

    Thanks for your comment Lisa and I hope the above information is useful.