Letitia Wilson Jordan, After Treatment
Letitia Wilson Jordan
Artist: Thomas Eakins
Title: Letitia Wilson Jordan
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Date: 1888
Dimensions: 59 15/16” x 40 3/16”
This full length portrait of Letitia Wilson Jordan depicts her standing at a three-quarter angle staring off with a vacant expression towards the proper left. She is wearing a black sleeveless gown with yellow elbow length gloves, red bow choker, a gray-blue shawl draped over her arm, and an open fan held absentmindedly in her hands in front of her torso.
This was painted by Thomas Eakins - a well-known Philadelphian artist - after meeting Ms. Jordan at a party with her brother David Wilson Jordan, a friend and student of Eakins. He was so taken with her look at the party, he asked her to pose in the same outfit for this portrait.
Condition Summary
This painting came into the lab in preparation for a full reinstallation of the American Galleries. Letitia’s portrait is one of the more popular paintings in the collection and has been on view pretty consistently. Curators wanted the surface assessed for the new opening.
The painting was structurally stable and had been wax-resin lined in the past. The varnish - B-72 applied in 1967 - was slightly grey and dull. The surface was also relatively dusty and grimy from being on display for so long.
Treatment Proposal Summary
The treatment started with basic surface cleaning, followed by aqueous cleaning to address the build up of dust and grime. The varnish needed to be addressed, as the dullness and gray cast compressed the painting’s depth of field and hid much of Eakins’ delicate color modulation. Due to the painting’s size, Eakins tendency to use very delicate glazes on his paintings, and the timeline of the American reinstall, a varnish removal was not feasible. However my supervisors and I agreed we could improve the varnish saturation and combat some of the grayness by applying a re-saturating varnish on top. Once applied, I retouched some small losses from abrasion throughout the composition.
A full treatment proposal and treatment report can be downloaded for further information. Below are select information and images of the treatment process.
Before Treatment, Normal Light, Recto
Before Treatment, Specular Light, Verso
Before Treatment, UV Fluorescence, Recto
After Treatment, Normal Light, Recto
Varnish Application
Knowing I had to apply a re-saturating varnish on top of the 1967 B-72 application, I conducted solubility tests, followed with varnish tests. In the end I settled for 10% Regalrez in Shellsol 71. The lower molecular weight of the Regalrez really allowed it to settle into the cracks and even the surface out to make it more vibrant and legible. With the help of my supervisors Lauren Bradley and Ellen Nigro, we brush applied the varnish with great results. The painting had regained a more legible field of depth, the colors were more vibrant, and nuances more visible.
Adriana Benavides and Lauren Bradley applying re-saturating varnish with the assistance of Ellen Nigro
(PC: Camille Ferrer)
Preparatory varnish test
Inpainting
There were some scattered losses/old abrasions that required minor inpainting. I used Gamblin Conservation Colors with Isopropanol.
Inpainting (PC: Camille Ferrer)
Before (left) and after (right) inpainting the sitter’s glove
Before (top) and after (bottom) inpainting the sitter’s neckline
Before (left) and after (right) inpainting the sitter’s sleeve