Longevity Art Preservation specializes in fine art research and preservation of artworks from all time periods, antiquity to contemporary.

 

A leader in forensic analysis of paintings and architectural finishes, Longevity offers research services with an in-house and mobile analytical laboratory. Comprehensive technical analysis and historic finish investigation reports can be used toward authentication research, to reveal the appearance of original historic finishes, and to inform conservation treatments.

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Watch Longevity Art Preservation at work in 

A Peale In Paris: Recovering A National Treasure

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Preservation services:

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Conservation condition examination, photodocumentation, and reporting

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Conservation treatment of paintings, frames, murals, and architectural surfaces

 

On-site surveys of collections for condition and conservation priorities 

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Collections consulting and art advisory services

 

Art Preservation Index® stability assessments and reports

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Elemental Fingerprinting for documentation and security

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Material and technical analysis of paintings:

 

Longevity aims to characterize the materials present on a work of art, using scientific analysis techniques, with a focus on their relationship to the artwork and its timeframe of creation.

High-resolution multi-band multi-modal imaging to document the current condition of the painting, identify the location and character of varnish layers, characterize autofluorescent materials, distinguish areas of restoration, and image layers beneath the design layer such as underdrawings, inscriptions, and compositional alterations
 

Analysis of painting stratigraphy and original techniques of the artist, pigment and binding media identification, and wood and fiber identification
 

 

Architectural finishes analysis:
 

Historic architectural finishes analysis through in situ excavations, sampling, microscopy, material documentation, color matching, and color measurement
 

 

Analysis of outdoor sculpture and collection objects:
 

Paint and finish characterization, metal identification, and analysis of other original and restoration materials
 

 

Analytical techniques:

Technical photography using visible, ultraviolet, and infrared radiation, including multispectral imaging

Portable and macro X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy
 

Polarized light microscopy
 

Cross-sectional optical microscopy
 

Fiber optic reflectance spectroscopy
 

Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy
 

Raman spectroscopy
 

Color matching and measurement using the
 

Munsell system and colorimetry
 

Climate studies and monitoring

 

 

Longevity Art Preservation has carried out analysis, treatment, and consulting on works by:

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Charles Willson Peale

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Andy Warhol

Gilbert Stuart

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

Robert Rauschenberg

Pablo Picasso

Rembrandt van Rijn

Barnett Newman

Victor Vasarely

Willem de Kooning

Wassily Kandinsky

Yayoi Kusama

Damien Hirst

Sam Francis

Salvador Dalí

Frida Kahlo

Diego Rivera

David Alfaro Siqueiros

Claude Monet

Albert Bierstadt

Frank Lloyd Wright

Richard Neutra

and many more

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Elemental Fingerprinting

Longevity Art Preservation has developed a product called an Elemental Fingerprint using XRF technology. X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) uses X-rays to detect elements that make pigments within paint, metal alloys in sculpture and jewelry, and many more objects. The process creates a unique fingerprint of each collection item that can be used to identify it in the future. This information contributes to provenance, decreases fraud, and impedes the forgery market. The process is non-invasive and can be carried out in situ. The technology is well-established, stable, and widely accepted. The process is also fast and affordable. 

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