5 CONCLUSIONS

A Macintosh or PC operating Adobe Photoshop allows the performance of many routine tasks of conservation documentation. In addition to the conventional means previously used, it allows a dramatic increase in the accuracy and depth of information that can be recorded. The precision allowed a previously impossible level of accuracy, as when marking the specific location of a sample for cross-sectional analysis or for denoting areas of inpainting. This accuracy will help future conservators by providing clearer records of object intervention, which can provide a better understanding of any continued degradation and performance of compensation materials.

Numerous advanced features of Adobe Photoshop can also be learned and utilized for more sophisticated projects, such as making montages of multiple images, manipulating images to visualize interpretation options, and aiding analytical methods like radiography.

An important aspect of the conservation profession is the exchange of ideas and information. As the information superhighway expands, digital information will be increasingly valuable as a vehicle for discussion of conservation issues among colleagues around the world.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The work discussed in this paper involved several members of the Decorative Arts and Sculpture Conservation Department, including Jane Bassett, John Childs, Kathy Gillis, Joseph Godla, Gordon Hanlon, Mark Mitton, Cynthia Moyer, and Linda Strauss. We would like to thank Jason Patt and all the members of the various conservation departments and Photographic Services Department of the J. Paul Getty Museum for their support and advice throughout this project. We would like to offer particular thanks to Deborah Gribbon and Brain Considine for their continuing support of this work.