Records of the committee on artists' materials and the treatment of pictures
The Committee was appointed at a meeting of Council of 20 March 1923, following the receipt of a letter on the subject of the treatment and preservation of paintings from P. Tudor-Hart in February of that year. It was known variously as the Committee on artists' materials and methods, on the materials and treatment of pictures, on the treatment of old pictures, and so on. It comprised four members of the Royal Academy, its Professor of Chemistry (
Arthur Pillans Laurie), four fellows of the Royal Society, and six other experts in the field. The Committee was appointed 'with a view to formulating some sound principles for the general guidance of both artists and picture-cleaners' (Annual Report, 1923), and applied for assistance from the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. An appeal for funds to finance research in 1924 produced only a very small response, and the Committee was forced to confine itself to receiving submissions from experts. In 1927, a Sub-Committee on modern pigments and mediums investigated issues confronting painters of oil paintings, and in 1928 it issued a preliminary report, after which the Committee ceased to function. However, references were made to the work of the Committee in the Royal Academy's response to a proposed conference on the subject to be held under the auspices of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research in 1931.
The records consist of a file of memoranda and correspondence, and printed items relating to the Committee.