Displaying items by tag: duke university

X-ray radiography is a standard technique widely used by art conservators, art historians, and curators to discover information about the manufacturing process and the condition of a painting. However, cradling—wooden slats attached to the back of many old paintings executed on wooden panels—creates lattice patterns that appear as grids or a series of stripes on an X-ray image. These patterns can obscure the image and distract art conservators from reading the image and analyzing paint layers.

“Cradle patterns in X-ray images has been an ages-old problem for conservators studying collections of Old Master paintings, and until Platypus, required many hours of tedious manipulation of the X-ray image in Photoshop or various other techniques, some of which could be damaging to the painting,” says William Brown, chief conservator at the NCMA.

A family with extensive ties to Duke University has committed $3 million to Duke in support of athletics and the Nasher Museum of Art, President Richard H. Brodhead announced Tuesday.

Gary L. Wilson, a former Duke trustee, and his son, Derek, who serves on the Nasher’s board of advisors, are providing $2 million to enhance and support athletic facilities and $1 million to fund an endowment for the museum and its collection.

An exhibition featuring more than 50 masterpieces by Spanish-born artist Joan Miró opened Sunday, Sept. 14, at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University.

The Nasher Museum is the only East Coast venue for “Miró: The Experience of Seeing,” a presentation of the final 20 years of Miró’s career. The exhibition includes 27 sculptures, 18 paintings and six drawings, some of them more than 6 feet tall. All works are on loan from the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain. The exhibition is on view at the Nasher Museum through Feb. 22, 2015.