Department Chair

Patrick Ravines

Mary Wilcop

Date of Award

8-2018

Access Control

Open Access

Degree Name

Art Conservation, M.A., C.A.S.

Department

Art Conservation Department

Advisor

Jonathan Thornton

Department Home page

https://artconservation.buffalostate.edu

Abstract

A 1930s theatrical makeup kit in the collection the Buffalo Museum of Science was analyzed and treated at the Garman Family Art Conservation Department at Buffalo State College. The kit, comprised of a tinplated-steel L. Leichner expandable makeup box, was packed tightly with 105 individual items including: greasepaints; paper, metal, and glass containers of powder- and cream-based cosmetics; wool crepe hairs; makeup-stained cotton balls; several plastic objects; and paper documents. The kit was gifted in 1983, where it had remained since in storage. Approaching treatment began with research into the history of theatrical cosmetics to lend context to the historical moment from which the items emerged, a time of technological evolution in stage and film production. To characterize colorants and binders in several components, six pink greasepaints were selected for analysis using X-ray fluorescent analysis (XRF), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (transmission-FTIR), optical microscopy (OM), polarized light microscopy (PLM), and selective pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (py-GC-MS). In addition, solid-phase microextraction headspace analysis (HS-SPME) was performed on the unopened box and a select number of components to investigate the volatile and semi-volatile compounds present. Experimentations with the evolved gas analysis GC-MS (EGA) to characterize volatiles from select objects was performed in tandem. Following conversations with the museum’s curator, a treatment philosophy was developed that would approach the kit as an “archeological artifact,” with minimal treatment to maintain its appearance upon arrival to the museum. Treatment, restoration, and preventive conservation strategies were employed in tandem to stabilize the object group for display and storage.

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