Subject: Vandalism
Given some of the incidents that have occurred in the past several years around the world, there is always a worry that a vandal or deranged person might attack paintings or other works of art on display with a liquid such as acid, alkali or paint remover. I have seen the results of these attacks, but never been involved with one. In discussions with my colleagues, the first direction we have given our attendants is to remove the work from display and place it face up on the floor to prevent the spread of the liquid. Don't touch the liquid as it may be corrosive or even toxic. The attendants are then to contact their security control point on their radio and wait for the conservator. The conservator arrives, does a very cautious sniff test to try to identify the material and then....... What? Blot it up with the edge of blotting papers? Does anyone have experience that can give us a bit of guidance? Thomas Dixon Chief Conservator National Gallery of Victoria Melbourne Australia *** Conservation DistList Instance 11:31 Distributed: Wednesday, October 1, 1997 Message Id: cdl-11-31-013 ***Received on Tuesday, 30 September, 1997