AIC's 52nd Annual Meeting

Maria Sol Escobar was known to most simply as the artist Marisol. Her most famous works are witty, blocky portraits, which often explore class divides while dealing with themes of feminism and isolation. She rose to fame in the early 1960s and retreated by the end of the decade. Though she continued to create art, she never again reached the level of fame she attained in the 1960s.

When Marisol passed away in 2016, her collection was bequeathed to the Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Amongst this collection are the two sculptures that this project focuses on: ABCDEFG & Hi (1961-62) and Father Damien (1966-67). These two sculptures are bookends to Marisol’s highest moment of fame. The dapper, suit and umbrella clad ABCDEFG & Hi was thought to represent an unknown man, whose identity was revealed partway through this project as the surrealist jeweler Carlos Alemany. This piece was created for the 1962 Stable Gallery solo show that made Marisol an overnight sensation. Five years later, Father Damien, a simple man who was motivated by compassion for the ill, became her subject matter. She expressed passion for Father Damien’s story and only a year later she herself began living a simpler life, retreating from fame, ending the decade in the way it began.

Although Marisol is a well-known artist, whose fame has been rekindling since her death, there have been very few studies of her materials and methods. Through multimodal imaging and scientific analysis, her techniques are given their due attention. X-radiography shows hidden construction elements, reflectance transformation imaging (RTI) and photogrammetry reveal marks not readily visible in raking light, UVA-visible fluorescence unveils the nature of a pearl tie pin, and x-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzes the diamond set upon it. This research is especially meaningful as these sculptures will embark on a traveling exhibition of Marisol’s work, which will introduce the artist to new audiences across North America.

In addition to technical studies, the sculptures required conservation treatment. The main condition concerns in common were the loss of original elements, crucial to the reading of the works:Father Damien’shand and ABCDEFG & Hi’s original umbrella were both missing. The hand required replication and the umbrella needed replacement with a fitting substitution. The choice of replica material for the hand came down to ethical considerations of original material versus conservation grade replica. Because of the stability and the unique visual characteristics of the original material, a mixture of synthetic and natural waxes, the same material was chosen for the replica, with a discreet inscription at the bottom, identifying it as such. The umbrella had a storied history of replacements by the artist, so it was necessary that the chosen replacement of the 1962 version be removable, should later versions be desired for display. To meet this criterion, the umbrella was mounted using rare earth magnets and existing dowels. This research contributes to the technical understanding of Marisol’s work, providing new insight into her materials and working methods.