Release Date: January 3, 2014

National Gallery of Art Introduces Facture, a New Journal Presenting the Latest in Conservation Research, with Lecture and Book Signing

Facture: Conservation, Science, Art History, Volume 1: Renaissance Masterworks edited by Daphne Barbour, senior object conservator and E. Melanie Gifford, research conservator for paintings technology at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

Washington, DC–Facture is a new biennial journal from the National Gallery of Art that introduces the latest in research on works in its permanent collection. Named for "the manner in which all things are made," the journal presents essays on conservation treatment, scientific research, and technical art history. Written for an audience of conservators, scientists, and art historians, Facture also engages serious art lovers with intimate glimpses of great works of art.

On January 12, at 2:00 p.m. in the East Building Auditorium, the Gallery will host a lecture about the publication. Speakers include Daphne Barbour, senior object conservator; Melanie Gifford, research conservator; Lisha Glinsman, conservation scientist; Alison Luchs, curator of early European sculpture; and Kimberly Schenk, head of paper conservation, National Gallery of Art.

Attendees will have the opportunity to purchase copies of Facture and have them signed by the authors.

As part of the Gallery's Works in Progress lecture series, Facture editors Barbour and Gifford will present a related talk on Monday, January 13, in the East Building Small Auditorium at 12:10 and 1:10 p.m.

About Facture, Volume 1: Renaissance Masterworks

This inaugural volume of Facture centers on great works from the Renaissance held within the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art.

Highlights include an analysis of a rare page from the albums in which the Italian painter, architect, and historian Giorgio Vasari collected great drawings by his fellow artists; a technical study unraveling Jan van Eyck's complex symbolism in The Annunciation (c. 1434–1436) an essay about the transatlantic adventures of paintings sold by the famous early 20th-century art dealers the Duveen Brothers; and technical research and treatment recapturing the original appearance of Lorenzo de' Medici in an iconic polychrome terracotta bust depicting the private citizen who ruled Florence in the late 15th century.   

Facture is available for purchase in the Gallery Shops and online: https://shop.nga.gov/item/543238/Facture-Conservation-Science-Art-History-Volume-1-Renaissance-Masterworks/1.html

For more information on Facture (with photographs): http://www.nga.gov/conservation/facture-publication.html