Output details
34 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
University of Lincoln
Kenwood House, Hampstead, London: service wing exterior elements [architectural paint research]
Context:
This research has led to a complete re-appraisal of the discrepancies between Robert Adam’s designs and the schemes executed at Kenwood House.
The research resides in:
1) Site visits and sampling allows researchers to use their knowledge of historic interiors to select appropriate places from which to take paint samples (main report, pp. 37-48)
2) Microscopic analysis revealed patterns in paint stratigraphy allowing individual paints to be identified (main report i.e. pp. 30-4)
3) Further analysis was commissioned using FTIR, RAMAN, GC, SEM & EDX
4) Primary and secondary historical research allowed researchers to place the chronology of paint stratigraphy in a historical sequence. (Report p. 32-40)
5) Collation of the paint sample analysis in tabular form to allows analysis of the decorative scheme as a whole. (main report i.e. p. 20-22).
Insights:
• Paint finishes on the south facade used colour and reflective finishes to enhance the sculpted architecture while those on the north facade, used textured paint finishes to imitate carved stone and cut ashlar work
• Analysis of the Great Stair provided evidence of the extent of the survival of Robert Adam's original scheme of 1770
• An early nineteenth-century scheme had extensively repaired and replaced much of that in the service wing collonade.
• The research revealed previously unknown interior schemes within other areas of the house, notably the Etruscan scheme within the Schoolroom
• Paint was applied to layers of wet paint to create 'sanded' finishes
Sharing:
The research was commissioned by English Heritage and shared in a series of reports that informed their redisplay of Kenwood House, which reopened in Autumn 2013.
Contribution to project:
Michael Crick-Smith was principal researcher for: sampling strategy, interpretation of paint stratigraphy, interpretation of research findings. He was co-author of the reports and collaborator for archival research.
