Hostname: page-component-7b7567c8c-2rsb6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-11-12T07:27:53.174Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Preliminary study of a Georgia O'Keeffe pastel drawing using XRF and μXRD

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 May 2016

Lynn B. Brostoff,
Catherine I. Maynor and
Robert J. Speakman
Lynn B. Brostoff
Affiliation:
Preservation Research and Testing Division, Library of Congress, 101 Independence Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20540, formerly Museum Conservation Institute, Smithsonian Institution
Catherine I. Maynor
Affiliation:
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Lunder Conservation Center, 750 9th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20013-7012
Robert J. Speakman
Affiliation:
Museum Conservation Institute, Smithsonian Institution, 4210 Silver Hill Rd., Suitland, Maryland 20746
Get access

Abstract

X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) and micro-X-ray diffraction (μXRD) were used to analyze the composition of pigments on a pastel drawing, Special No. 32, by Georgia O’Keeffe. XRF analyses showed that, among other pigments present in the drawing, the red, orange, and yellow pigments may possibly be identified with lead- and chromium-based pigments: lead chromates, red and yellow lead oxides, and/or lead carbonates, plus calcium-based pastel fillers, such as whiting or gypsum. XRD examination of a sample removed from a dark mottled area of coral red pastel confirmed that this pigment layer, which is associated with a darkened appearance and high Pb:Cr ratios, matches the red lead oxide, minium (2PbO⋅PbO2).

Keywords

XRFXRDpastelpigmentred leadO'Keeffe

Information

Type
X-Ray Fluorescence
Information
Powder Diffraction , Volume 24 , Special Issue 2 , June 2009, pp. 116 - 123
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Aze, S., Vallet, J. -M., and Grauby, O. (2002). “Chromatic degradation processes of red lead pigment,” ICOM Committee for Conservation preprints, 13th Triennial Meeting, Rio de Janeiro (ICOM, London), pp. 455–463.Google Scholar
Barilleaux, R. P. and Whitaker Peters, S. (2006).Georgia O'Keeffe, Color and Conservation (Mississippi Museum of Art/Penn State University Press, Jackson, Mississippi).Google Scholar
Fitzhugh, E. W. (1986). Artists’ Pigments: A Handbook of their History and Characteristics, edited by Feller, R. L. (National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.), pp. 109–140.Google Scholar
Gettens, R. J. and Stout, G. L. (1942). Painting Materials: A Short Encyclopedia (Dover Publications, New York, NY).Google Scholar
Kuchitsu, N. (1997). “Mineralogical consideration on discoloration of red lead,” Hozon-kagaku 36, 58–66.Google Scholar
Kühn, H. and Curran, M. (1986). Artists’ Pigments. A Handbook of their History and Characteristics, edited by Feller, R. L. (National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.), pp. 187–200.Google Scholar
O’Keeffe, G. (1976). A Studio Book (Viking Press, New York).Google Scholar
Saunders, D., Spring, M., and Higgitt, C. (2002). “Colour change in red lead-containing paint films,” ICOM Committee for Conservation preprints, 13th Triennial Meeting, Rio de Janeiro (ICOM, London), pp. 455–463.Google Scholar
Walsh, J. C. (2000). O’Keeffe on Paper, edited by Fine, R. E., Lynes, B. B., Glassman, E., and Walsh, J. C. (National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.), pp. 57–80.Google Scholar