Jessica Lehmann: Why was it decided to ‘clean’ and varnish Arthur Streeton’s The purple noon’s transparent might now, 124 years after the work’s creation?
Michael Varcoe-Cocks: Arthur Streeton’s The purple noon’s transparent might never received a final varnish layer. Leaving a painting unvarnished was not Streeton’s normal practice, however the relatively quick exhibition of the canvas after its completion and the successful sale to the NGV prohibited Streeton from doing it himself because a varnish should not be applied until the paint layer has sufficiently dried, otherwise there is the risk of cracking in the paint layer.
Since 1896 the painting has remained in an unvarnished state and over time the paint surface has accumulated a layer of grime, including organic matter that bonded to the pigment surface to form organic salts.
In recent years I undertook archival research at the Public Records Office Victoria and uncovered an historic letter from Streeton to his friend, and fellow Impressionist, Frederick McCubbin who was the Drawing Master at the National Gallery School. Writing from London a year after he had sold the painting, Streeton stated that sufficient time had passed for the painting to dry and it would now be ready for varnishing. He requested that McCubbin ask the then NGV Council of Trustees to have this happen and although they gave prompt approval Streeton’s wishes were never realised.
JL: What are the ethical implications that conservators consider when undertaking a conservation treatment of such an iconic artwork in the NGV Collection?
MVC: Conservators are highly trained, experienced professionals and adhere to the Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Materials (AICCM) code of ethics. The decision to undertake any conservation treatment happens in stages. Initially we would establish the desire or identified need, followed by archival and technical art history research, material technical research and then finally the actual treatment occurs. This process can involve discussion with NGV colleagues, relevant scholars and the artist, if appropriate. At all times conservators are adhering to the strict directive that anything applied to the artwork is reversible. Armed with the recent understanding of Streeton’s wishes, my motivation for this treatment was based on the knowledge that the painting’s appearance had changed sufficiently so that it was no longer a true representation of the artist’s work.
JL: What process and steps were involved in this restoration?
MVC: Starting in a light area with highest contrast, the cleaning is slow and steady to eventually remove the years of surface build up. Following the cleaning I applied a synthetic varnish that replicates the traditional dammar resin, a resin extracted from trees. The synthetic varnish has the advantage of prolonged stability and ease of removability in years to come. In this case we chose a recently developed resin called MS3.
JL: What has the cleaning and restoration revealed? Were there any unexpected revelations?
MVC: The conservation treatment has revealed, for the first time in living memory, the colours and tonal range that Streeton painted when perched on the riverbank. Below us and extending into the distance the Hawkesbury River is chromatically radical in intense rich blue. Around the bend in the upper left it passes deep blue trees at the Richmond Bridge crossing whose intense colour is designed to draw the viewer’s eye into this sunlight landscape. On close inspection we can now see the subtle colouring of the sky with pink highlights delivered in relentless square brushwork. One of my favourite revelations is the textual variation achieved in the highly affluent farmland on the opposing bank of the Richmond Lowlands. The smooth grazed grass of the foreground is abruptly contrasted by a paddock of flowing maize and further up a summer display of crops and fruiting trees.
JL: What do you hope others will experience when seeing the painting again after its treatment?
MVC: On viewing this painting audiences will now be presented with one of the greatest Impressionist landscapes in Australian art. Its beauty is achieved equally by Streeton’s youthful talent and his own love of his Australian homeland. I hope others can now experience the work as intended and as created.
Michael Varcoe-Cocks is NGV Head of Conservation. Jessica Lehmann is NGV Project Officer, Conservation.
This article first appeared in NGV Magazine, issue 25, November–December 2020.