When the Los Angeles County Museum of Art acquired the Lewin Collection, one of the largest and most important collections of 20th century Mexican art, it realized that a great deal of work would have to go into the pieces before they could be put on display. The collection, which included works by Mexican masters such as Jose Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera and Rufino, was in such a deteriorated condition, that the Museum faced a monumental challenge in conserving all 2,000 works.

“Many of these pieces exhibited severe acid-burn and advanced deterioration caused by inherent vice in the artwork and aging of poor quality framing materials,” says Victoria Blyth-Hill, senior paper conservator and acting head of conservation at the museum. “In some cases, this was due to the lack of knowledge and availability of preservation-quality framing material from the 1930s into the 1970s

With millions of dollars in art at stake, the mu-ach piece from its old frame, then slide the art into a protective folder made of 1-ply Alpharag Artcare conservation material. The museum was already familiar with Artcare and its patented MicroChamber® technology, and regularly used this technology in its extensive conservation efforts. By doing so they would protect the artwork from harmful pollutants, paper degradation and acid by-products of the art’s own aging. Museum curators created more than 2,000 custom-sized Artcare folders — one for each piece in the collection.seum’s paper conservators and curators quickly devised a strategy to preserve these works. Their first step was to carefully remove each piece from its old frame, then slide the art into a protective folder made of 1-ply Alpharag Artcare conservation material. The museum was already familiar with Artcare and its patented icroChamber® technology, and regularly used this technology in its extensive conservation efforts. By doing so they would protect the artwork from harmful pollutants, paper degradation and acid by-products of the art’s own aging. Museum curators created more than 2,000 custom-sized Artcare folders — one for each piece in the collection.

At present, each piece of artwork in the Lewin Collection is housed in the protective Artcare folder and will remain so until it undergoes further conservation treatment, and whenever it is not on display. According to Jill Martinez, the museum’s curatorial assistant of modern and contemporary art, “The Artcare products have greatly enhanced important conservation and storage efforts for the Lewin Collection.” The artwork from this collection is rotated regularly in the museum’s Permanent Collection galleries. An installation opened in the fall of 2000.

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