Hello, El Museo del Barrio in New York City has been offered a ca. 1970s sculpture where lead paint is present (according to another museum in the U.S. that was considering adding it to its collection). The artwork consists of a recycled wood, metal and painted cast iron door, and measures 39"h x 28" x 7-1/2"d. Paint is prevalent on the flat cast iron section of the door, as well as on the metal hardware attached to the wood side of the door - most likely this is paint that existed when the artist found the object and metal parts. The cast iron side is heavily oxidized; the paint applied to this part of the object is heavily cracked but remains fairly well attached to the metal (although when I viewed the object myself at the current owner's home, there were a few paint chips on the floor next to the object). According to the current owner (a close personal friend of the deceased artist) the artist admired the aesthetics of the crackled and patinated paint on cast iron side, and, if ever exhibited, would have displayed both sides of the object.
A federally subsidized museum in Washington DC considered this work for its collection, but rejected it because of the presence of lead paint (apparently the work was shipped to Washington DC for analysis). My questions are: - Are there any restrictions in New York State regarding preserving objects with the presence of lead paint, considering the health hazards posed by lead paint? I would imagine that, due to the prevalent use of lead paint in the past, there are many objects in museum collections with lead paint surfaces. - Are there restrictions in any other state within the United States regarding preserving or temporarily housing objects with the presence of lead paint (in the event, for instance, El Museo would lend the artwork to another US institution)? - Are there any restrictions in other countries around the world regarding preserving or temporarily housing objects with the presence of lead paint (in the event, for instance, El Museo would lend the artwork to a non-US based institution)? - What, if anything, can be done to preserve the painted metal sections on the object? Upon request I can provide images of the object. I look forward to your responses. Thank you, Noel Valentin Permanent Collection Manager El Museo del Barrio 1230 Fifth Avenue New York, NY. 10029 212 660 7120 voice 347 749 4890 mobile 212 831 7927 fax [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> www.elmuseo.org<http://www.elmuseo.org> This message is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and is covered by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C.2510-2521. This message is legally privileged and confidential and may contain information that is privileged, confidential and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or the employee or agent responsible for delivering the message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. E-mail transmission cannot be guaranteed to be secured or error-free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by sending an email to [email protected], and delete the original message, and all copies, from your system. ****** Unsubscribe by sending a message to [email protected] Searchable archives: http://cool.conservation-us.org/byform/mailing-lists/cdl/
