Be Impressed By Light ... But Also Beware Of Light

Roger Fenton
British, 1819 - 1869
Moscow, Domes of Churches in the Kremlin, 1852
salted paper print from paper negative, image: 18.2 x 21.2 cm (7 3/16 x 8 3/8 in.)
mat: 40.6 x 50.8 cm (16 x 20 in.)
Paul Mellon Fund
2005.52.1

Impressed by Light: British Photographs from Paper Negatives, 1840–1860
February 3–May 4, 2008

National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.


*

State-of-the-Art Storage Rooms Complement Newer Galleries at National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

'The new[er] galleries will make it possible for works from the collection of photographs to be seen more frequently as part of changing exhibitions. However, because photographs are fragile and subject to deterioration if exposed to light for extended periods of time, the collection is stored under strict conservation guidelines and made available for study only by appointment.

The collection storage room for photographs consists of two rooms: one maintained at 62 degrees Fahrenheit and 40 percent relative humidity for optimum storage of black-and-white photographs, and the other at 50 degrees Fahrenheit and 40 percent relative humidity for color photographs. Storage at these temperatures and humidity levels extends the life of photographs by slowing the rate of change in their components.'

Source

*

Image credit: (c) National Gallery of Art. Washington, D.C. All rights reserved.