Contact details

Department of Conservation & Technology

Courtauld Institute of Art

Somerset House

Strand

London

WC2R 0RN

 

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7848 2190

Fax: +44 (0) 20 7848 2878

christina.young@courtauld.ac.uk

 


Current research/interests

 

  • Collaborative research with Tate, and Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine to gain understanding of the mechanical deterioration of easel paintings and the effects of environmental conditions.

  • Assessment and development of methods and materials used for the structural conservation treatments of canvas and panel paintings; this includes lining, tear mending and panel joining.

  • Non-destructive optical methods of analysing canvas and panel paintings. The equipment developed over the past 14 years, combining biaxial testing and Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometry, has provided a unique capability for conservation research. This is housed in the basement of the west wing in Conservation & Technology Dept. (More information in the department's Research webpage).

  • Interlaminar fracture detection and adhesion processes in works of art, using state of the art inspection techniques.


Profile
 Christina Young has a BSc in Physics from Imperial College (ICSTM) and an MSc in Applied Optics. Following industrial research in the development of optical instrumentation she returned to ICSTM in 1993 as a Research Assistant in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. In 1994 she was awarded the Gerry Hedley Research Scholarship and gained her PhD in the “Measurement of the biaxial tensile properties of paintings on canvas" in 1996. Before joining the Courtauld she was Leverhulme Research Fellow at Tate Britain between 1997-2000

 

Current and recent research projects

 

  • Getty Visiting Scholarship research conducted at CIA (2009/2010) and the GCI (2010). It is an experimental investigation into the relationship between thermo-mechanical methods of measuring the glass transition temperature (Tg), and the direct measurement of mechanical properties across the glass transition region using bulk mechanical testing.
  • AHRC/EPSRC Design for the C21st Century “Modelling, Design and Measurement of of Modern Textiles for Conservation. In collaboration with Warwick University. 2007-2009.
  • The Physical Properties of Modern Media in collaboration with Tate and ICSTM.
  • Characterization of the Alterations Induced by UV Laser Radiation on the Pigmented Oil layers in Nineteenth Century Paintings on Canvas in collaboration with R&D ISQ - Instituto de Soldadura e Qualidade, PORTUGAL.  Evaluation of the physical properties of adhesives used for the repair of wood panel paintings
  •  EPSRC funded project: “Investigations Into the Adhesive Bond and Transfer of Tension in Lined Canvas Paintings” in collaboration with Tate.

 

Courses taught during the forthcoming academic year

 

  • Conservation issues for contemporary and modern art
  • Approaches to research
  • Basic physics: colour theory/ optics/ digital imaging & processing/ graphical representations and statistics / mechanics
  • Deterioration of paintings
  • Materials for conservation
  • Practical workshops on the structural conservation of canvas and panel paintings
  • Preventive conservation theory and in-situ survey
  • Structural conservation theory- canvas and wood
  • Theory and practice of cleaning

 

publications

 


Young CRT., New B., Marchant, Experimental Evaluation of Adhesive Gap Filler Combinations for Joining Panel Paintings, invited paper for the Getty Symposium on Panel Paintings, in press.

Young CRT., History of Fabric Supports, Chapter in Butterworths Black Book Series, in press.

Hagan E., Charalambides M., Young CRT., Learner T., Hackney S., Tensile Properties of Latex Paint Films with TiO2 Pigment., Journal of Mechanics of Time-Dependent Materials, 2009, 13, 2,pp 149-161.

Young CRT., Hagan E., Cold Temperature Effects of Modern Paints Used for Priming Flexible Supports, In Preparation for Painting, Townsend, J., Doherty, T., Heydenreich, G., Ridge, J. (eds.). Archetype Books, London, pp 172-179, 2008.

Carlyle L., Young CRT.,  The Mechanical Response of Flour Paste Grounds, In Preparation for Painting, Townsend, J., Doherty, T., Heydenreich, G., Ridge, J. (eds.). Archetype Books, London, pp 123-131, 2008.

Young CRT, Interfacial Interaction of Modern Paint Layers, Modern Paints Uncovered,  Postprints Tate/ Getty/ NGA Symposium 2006, , pp 247-256.

Hagan E., Charalambides M., Learner T., Murray A., Young CRT., Factors Affecting the Mechanical Properties of Modern Paints, Modern Paints Uncovered, Postprints Tate/ Getty/ NGA Symposium 2006, Getty Publications, 2007, pp 227-235.

R. Bordalo, P. J. Morais, H. Gouveia, CRT Young, "Laser Cleaning of Easel Paintings: an overview," Laser Chemistry, Sept. 2006.

Young CRT, Developing Mechanical Tests to Evaluate Consolidation Treatments on Canvas Paintings,  3rd International Congress Colore e Conservazione Proceedings, Il Prato, Italy 2008, pp 71-78.