Works on Paper Department: Discoloration treatment
Paper Conservation Beth during treatment.
Our client has one of the largest 20th century contemporary art collections in the Bay Area, built over the past 45 years and composed exclusively of post-World War II American art with a specific concentration on West Coast artists. This lithograph by David Hockney, titled Afternoon Swimming, 1979-80, came to the studio in overall very good condition, but exhibited discoloration caused by exposure to non-archival framing materials.
David Hockney moved to Southern California from Great Britain in 1964. As he flew over Los Angeles, he looked down to see reflecting aquamarine swimming pools dotted across the landscape. This experience would mark a turning point in his artistic career, having discovered a lifelong subject that would become a fascination and setting for many of his major paintings of the 1960s and 1970s.
To address the discolored edges, the print was first released from multiple hinges which connected it to a secondary support. The print was then immersed in a series of baths followed by locally bleaching areas of discoloration. After a process of drying and flattening, the result is an overall even and consistent paper tone that is ready to be reframed with archival materials.
Before and after treatment detail.
