Abstract
Franz Kline (1910–1962) was one of the defining artistic personalities of Abstract Expressionism, and like others in this movement, he embraced modern, inexpensive alternatives to conventional oil paints. This break with tradition often adversely impacted the long-term stability of the materials, and indeed, three of the four paintings by Kline in The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, are manifesting condition issues that pose challenges to their aesthetic and physical integrity. Wotan (1950–1) exhibits fragile and persistently cracking and lifting paint layers, while Orange and Black Wall (1959) and Red Brass (1959) suffer from extreme interlayer cleavage and active paint loss. In contrast, Corinthian II (1961) is in stable, nearly pristine condition. Zinc and lead soaps have been identified in FTIR spectra of all four works, including Corinthian II; therefore their presence alone cannot explain the cohesive failures observed in the other three paintings. Other causes include under-bound paint, heavy sizing, poor quality canvas, and, for Wotan, a problematic complex support. Comparison of these paintings elucidates how Kline’s choices of materials and paint application result in subtle but critical differences that significantly influence the relative stability of his works.
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Notes
- 1.
Artists’ alkyds were introduced only in 1970 (Learner 2004).
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Acknowledgments
We thank Joy Mazurek and Michael Schilling of the Getty Conservation Institute for GC-MS and py-GC-MS analysis, Drs. Cruz Hinojos and Tom Tague of Bruker Optics for loan of the Lumos FTIR microscope, Mark Wypyski and Julie Arslanoglu of the Metropolitan Museum of Art for SEM-EDX analysis and sharing of analytical results, Zane Maŕek and coworkers of JEOL USA Inc. for SEM-EDX analysis, Rice University Shared Equipment Authority for access to their FTIR, Raman, and SEM instruments. We thank MFAH colleagues Matthew Golden, Alison de Lima Green, Steve Pine, Ivan Reyes-García, and Bert Samples for their contributions to this project, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for supporting conservation science in Houston.
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Rogge, C.E., Bomford, Z.V., Leal, M. (2019). Seldom Black and White: The Works of Franz Kline. In: Casadio, F., et al. Metal Soaps in Art. Cultural Heritage Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90617-1_24
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