2012: Mixing for the Masses: Paint from an Art to a Science

Freemasons’ Hall, London

The subject for the 2012 Traditional Paint Forum Conference: “MIXING FOR THE MASSES: PAINT FROM AN ART TO A SCIENCE 1850 – 1950” inspired a diverse collection of talks from a range of different professionals including paint consultants, architects, curators, conservators and artists. The beautiful and imposing building of the Freemason’s Grand Lodge, Queen Street provided the setting for the Conference on Friday 28th October 2012.
I applied for the Free Student position to gain more knowledge in areas directly related to my interests such as the manufacture of paints, the modern history of colour and how conservators have solved problems that dealt with colour and paint. I also wanted to learn more about areas that I have not previously considered, such as wallpaper, interior décor and masonic architecture.
The TPF Chair, Cathy Littlejohn, opened the meeting by addressing why a forum focused on traditional paint was hosting a series of lectures on paint in the 20th century. Cathy highlighted how much manufacturing techniques and fashions evolved in such a small period of time due to the revolution of technology, the beginning of mass production in different industries and the two World Wars. She provided a brief overview of the Freemason’s Hall and went on to introduce each speaker with their professional achievements. The speeches overlapped wonderfully and the other delegates and I received a rounded view of the topics of the day.
Patrick Baty began the talks with the development of colour standardisation in modern Britain. This was an excellent topic to begin the day, as it introduced Britain’s pioneering role in technology in this era and the effects of the World Wars on the evolution of interior decorating, which were both inevitable features in many of the other presentations. Patrick delivered a straightforward talk on a subject that seemed difficult to research and compile. While he highlighted how great the efforts were to standardise colours, one is left with the impression that the amount of colour charts and standards available has left the issue more bewildering than ever.
Colin Mitchell-Rose and Barbara Diethelm’s speeches contrasted pleasantly as both speakers referred to their own paint manufacturing companies’ involvement in the history of their respective paints. However, while the former concentrated on how the manufacture of household paints developed over the last two centuries, the latter gave the shorter history of the production of artist’s acrylic paints and how they can be used.
Colin is the fifth generation of his family to join the company, “Craig and Rose”, founded in 1829 and it was fascinating to see how it has progressed from using hand operated machinery and archaic materials, to mass producing colours, including a range, “1829”, which is inspired by historic colours. Colin’s speech raised queries about how conservators could recreate the colours and textures of paints produced in the 1800s with paints produced today, as many of the pigments, binders and manufacturing methods used before are now unavailable, unsuitable, dangerous to use or possibly detrimental to the original material.
In her perspective on the evolution of artist’s paint in the twentieth century, Barbara Diethelm described how Lascaux, founded by her father Alois in 1963, developed the acrylic paint company in an effort to meet the needs of artists who were unsatisfied with the paints available to them. She delivered a useful introduction to acrylic paint, from the development of acrylic materials in the 1930s to the drying process and advantages of it being water based. As a student of conservation, it was interesting to see that Lascaux’s paints are not exclusively used by artists but have also been used in conservation projects, including the retouching of a weathered sculpture by Picasso, “Tête de Femme”. Barbara provided inspiring examples of how both colours and acrylic paints can be used imaginatively in a variety of situations and in the case of the latter, a surprising range of climates.
Allyson McDermott described how the Victorian wall paper consumer had an unbelievably wide range of techniques and effects to choose from. She recounted a variety of conservation situations, including the innovative fabric wallpaper in Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s house and how she had to recreate the meticulous detail of the mould-damaged Frieze of Quadrant 3, Regent Palace Hotel, by hand. She concluded with a thought provoking prediction for the next trends in wallpaper conservation, foreseeing revivals for 1960s psychedelia and wallpaper from the digital age.
Alexandra Goddard’s insight into wallpapers conveyed how the Victorian love affair with designs of elaborate, realistic portrayals of nature was disrupted by a large scale moral protest that vilified the designs as vulgar and dishonest and instead called for simple, schematic designs. Alexandra’s speech conveyed other examples of how interior décor can provide a fascinating record of changes in the history of a society, such as the decline in popularity of oak panelling when wood became subject to tax and the move towards simpler household decoration in the early twentieth century when people could no longer afford servants.
Tanvir Hasan and Rosalind Robinson both produced detailed examples into how they resolved two very different complicated, large scale conservation problems. In the restoration of The Regent’s Palace Hotel to its 1930’s decoration, Tanvir had to balance a variety of considerations: her team had to pay painstaking attention to details of the original design, while maintaining eco-friendly ambitions and taking into account the needs of the building’s new owners. The restoration team aspired to as close a replication of the original as possible, while achieving environmentally conscious ambitions by introducing new features such as double glazing and avoiding materials such as the endangered exotic woods that were originally used. It seemed unfortunate but humorous that the owners compromised the original design as the proposed green ceiling in the Titanic Restaurant resulted in an unappetizing reflection in customers’ steaks.
Rosalind Robinson faced several different dilemmas when she recreated an enormous false proscenium and scenery at Normansfield. These included the issue that the owners did not want the original to be removed yet it had to be recreated precisely. Also there was the scale of the project, which she solved by working in a large but poorly insulated barn, a considerable distance from the theatre. It was fascinating to see how Rosalind managed to reproduce the design so well, relying solely on colour studies, photographs, grids and memory. She achieved a balance between recreating the original style, colours, proportions and deterioration of the design authentically while giving it a vibrancy that would have been familiar to the Victorian audience.
We ended the lectures with a talk on the history of Masonic architecture by Mark Dennis, Curator of the Freemason’s hall, followed by a tour of the Freemason’s Hall Museum and library. Mark highlighted how many Masonic rooms were designed specifically for Masonic rituals the importance of the choice of colours and symbols used. It seemed interesting that the room that we were in could be converted to suit various needs of conferences to fashion shows, premieres and film settings despite being designed for the very specific requirements of the Free Masons.
I felt privileged to attend the 2012 Traditional Paint Forum Conference. The theme “MIXING FOR THE MASSES: PAINT FROM AN ART TO A SCIENCE 1850 – 1950” inspired papers that complimented one another, while covering different aspects of the evolution of paint and decorating in this epoch. The audience was provided with a sense of how rapidly art and design changed in this era and how conservators and restorers are responding to it today. Several delegates spoke favourably about the increase of students at this year’s meeting and the other students who attended and I were grateful for the warm reception we received. Also from a student’s perspective- particularly in an era where students are constantly reminded of how arduous a mission it will be to find a job after University- it was exciting and inspiring to hear from such a diverse array of passionate and hardworking professionals. As Colin Mitchell-Rose phrased it, one “gets swept up in their enthusiasm” and this atmosphere combined with the topic of how rapidly manufacturing and creative skills developed over the past two centuries left me excited to be a part of the future of the conservation of paint and to see what the next century holds for the technology and fashions of paint, wall paper and conservation.

Written by Grace Osbourne