AIC's 52nd Annual Meeting

Polaroid 20 by 24 inches materials are commonly found in fine arts museums’ collections but remain relatively unfamiliar to conservators. This presentation will share the results of a current research project that seeks to gain a better understanding of these supports and their different properties.

The idea of the large format was born after Dr Edwin Land presented the 8x10 peel-apart Polaroid in 1973. Following the commercial success of the new product, Land wanted to create a large camera that would showcase the high quality of the material. Between 1977 and 1978, the company built five cameras that became available to artists in the US and abroad. Over the years, the Polaroid Corporation produced different 20x24 supports for the big cameras, which also had their smaller equivalents in commercially available formats, including Polacolor2, Polacolor ER, Polacolor Pro, and Polapan. The research focused on investigating and analyzing those supports through visual and microscopic observation, color and thickness measurements, surface gloss and texture characterization. Artworks from the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, were selected to collect data. Measurements were compared with those taken from identified samples in the Conservation Study Collection. Scientists from the Art Institute performed advanced scientific analysis to identify support components and further characterize the materials. Additional research was conducted in the Polaroid Corporation Records held at the Baker Library, Harvard Business School, and through interviews with former and retired scientists who worked for the Polaroid Corporation. The collected information will be compiled to create identification guidelines.

In addition to the characterization of the Polaroid 20x24 supports, different conservation methods, including dry and solvent surface cleaning, consolidation treatments, and tear reinforcement were investigated to determine the best practices and provide recommendations. The treated surfaces were photographed before and after treatment under different lighting conditions to show the impact of each procedure on the treated surface. The final part of this presentation will also include recommendations for storage materials.