The Technical Analysis and Conservation of John La Farge’s Newport Congregational Church Mural Decorations (1880) in Newport, Rhode Island

ABSTRACT

John La Farge (1835–1910) is regarded as an innovator of American interior decoration. His materials and techniques successfully created unique and eye-catching effects across the interior surfaces of monumental buildings. The recent conservation treatment of the Newport Congregational Church in Newport, Rhode Island afforded the opportunity to perform the first comprehensive analysis of one such painted interior. Materials analyses of the media and pigments were carried out using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX). In addition, reconstructions of La Farge’s medium were prepared based on a number of available archival paint recipes in order to further inform the analysis and to help develop a better understanding of the materials La Farge likely used for specific passages and colors. The results of the project suggest that La Farge primarily achieved his varied surfaces with two mediums: distemper-bound passages juxtaposed with areas bound in a mixture of beeswax and larch balsam diluted with solvents. Analysis, archival research, and reconstructions were ultimately used to illustrate the vulnerabilities of La Farge’s surfaces but also to reveal the artist’s original intent and technique.

KEYWORDS:

• Mural
• John La Farge
• wax
• distemper
• Newport Congregational Church
• GC-MS
• SEM-EDX
• paint reconstruction

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Dr. Rosie Grayburn, Associate Scientist and head of Winterthur’s Scientific Research and Analysis Laboratory for her cooperation and Dr. Judy Rudolph who performed the SEM-EDX analysis. This project would not have been possible without the support of the Newport Congregational Board of Directors including Andrew Long, Paul Miller, Karen LaFrance, and Mohamad Farzan. We also thank the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum for facilitating the space and equipment for cross-section preparation. We also acknowledge the hard work of the conservation team who have participated in the phases of the Newport Congregational project: Corrine Long, Peggy Waldron, Alexa Beller, Courtney Books, Cassandra Long, Jen Munch, Melissa King, and Gianfranco Pocobene; as well as the team from John Canning Studios: David Riccio, John Canning, Robert Schwartz, Piotr Wirkijowski, and Rachel and Rodrigues Gilberti.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).