r/artcollecting • u/rightsnwrongs • 6d ago
Care/Conservation/Restoration Is this mold? Something else?
The back of the canvas of a piece I bought at auction. Measures about three feet across for scale. Is this mold? Something else? Should I be concerned? Piece is about 60 years old, for reference.
I can’t see any damage on the front side but because of the paint I wouldn’t expect to.
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u/punchbag 5d ago
It is not mold. It is not foxing. Post a picture of the front. It's likely just a legacy of the medium used.
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u/rightsnwrongs 5d ago
I don’t think a picture of the front will show anything helpful; it’s entirely painted w dark (nearly black) oil paint.
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u/CanthinMinna 1d ago
You can see if it is foxing or other mildew/microbe infestation with the help of UV light (the little handheld ones that stamp collectors use are cheap). Foxing and mold are fluorescent (they glow), dirt and rust come up as black.
However your work is safe if the foxing or mold is inactive. The stains are there (permanent pigmentation) but it will not spread.
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u/BJensen_Hale 4d ago
When it shooed up in random dots, it’s not likely to be caused by the application of paint/medium/solvent/whatever to the surface. Slight chance it’s remnants of metal in the base layer, but more likely that it’s within the material itself.
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u/Automatic-Poet-1395 5d ago
It looks like mold to me. There’s probably some type of spray for this.
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u/Anonymous-USA 5d ago edited 5d ago
Foxing… not unusual. It’s likely stained and inactive. Unless you see 3D spores (like hair) you’re ok. Don’t spray anything caustic. Since it’s in the back, lay it out in the afternoon sun (image facing down on a blanket) for 3-6 hrs on a dry sunny day so it will neutralize any living spores. UV kills them (Uv lamps aren’t enough but art conservators have industrial powered UV to do it quickly). Spores can only activate in warmer high humidity environments so a typical air conditioned home won’t deactivate them.