Fogg Meeting Studies Wartime Care of Art

During a recent conference on "Emergency Protection of Works Of Art" held at the Fogg Museum, a broad program for care of art objects in war time was laid out and a detailed pamphlet on the subject issued, an article in the Alumni Bulletin appearing tomorrow relates.

At present there seems to be slight danger in keeping artistic masterpieces safe in museums and galleries, the conference reports, but "the new quantities of risk" make it wise to be prepared for the worst. Correct appraisal of the risks and a sound judgment of properties of materials are the most important factors in such a program.

Resistance of Material Paramount

The treatment a given art subject receives for protection rests on four elements: first, the resistance of the medium in which the object is executed, second its shape, third its rate of deterioration, and last in the case of restorations, the extent of repairs. The report of the conference also gives tables in which the materials are rated by their resistance.

The principal dangers to art objects are given as light, dark, heat, flame, sudden and great changes of temperature, blast, mechanical violence, abrasion, dryness, dampness, water, chemicals, smoke and dirt, mold and insects.

The tables show that ivory, for instance, resists light and dark well but breaks down under heat. Granite and quartzite materials receive excellent ratings while painting and paper work are ranked rather low in their chances to overcome wartime perils.

Twenty-four prominent museum figures from art institutions throughout the East took part in the conference.