Mold on wax resin lined paintings

Helen A. Houp <helen [at] pixfix__org> writes

>I am writing for advice on remediation treatment of mold found to be
>present on the lining support of a wax-resin lined painting. ...
>...
>The museum environment and storage area is controlled at 50% rH. ...

Are other paintings affected, or is this the only one?

It is highly  unlikely that mold would grow if the RH were really
steady at 50%.  The most likely scenario that I can think of is that
the pressboard backing got wet at one point, and has been putting
moisture into the air behind it ever since.  My recommendation would
be to wipe down the reverse of the lining with ethanol, which will
kill the mold, leave it open for a week or two just to make sure
everything is OK, and then back it--with something less hygroscopic
than pressboard.

Barbara Appelbaum
Appelbaum and Himmelstein
444 Central Park West
New York, NY  10025
212-666-4630


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 22:56
                  Distributed: Tuesday, March 31, 2009
                       Message Id: cdl-22-56-006
                                  ***