Technology to slow damage to Georgia O'Keeffe's works

SANTA FE, New Mexico - Chemical reactions are gradually darkening many of Georgia O'Keeffe's famously vibrant paintings, and art conservation experts are hoping new digital-imaging tools can help them slow the damage.

Scientific experts in art conservation from Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the Chicago area announced plans this week to develop advanced 3-D imaging technology to detect destructive buildup in paintings by O'Keeffe and eventually other artists in museum collections around the world.

Dale Kronkright, art conservationist at the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, says the project builds on efforts that began in 2011 to monitor the preservation of O'Keeffe paintings using high-grade images from multiple sources of light. That prevented taking physical samples that might damage the works.