Why do conservators ask that the public not touch works of art?
The cleanest hands have a coating of perspiration, which can damage works of art. Fingerprints can etch into metal. Stone, textiles, and wood are porous and absorb dirt and oil. Marble and bronze are especially susceptible to staining and discoloration from human touch. Paint is often brittle, and a finger placed against a painted surface easily causes damage. Over the years the Conservation Center has attended to many works of art damaged by vandalism or inadvertent contact—for example, blood stains on the Milton Avery Blue Landscape; bubble gum on the Eugene Berman Sunset; barbecue sauce stains on the Morris Louis Pi, 1960; and various scuffs, scratches, fingerprints, and smudges on numerous paintings. The most endearing damage was a child’s small green handprints placed over the ankles of George Washington on the Roger Brown painting American Landscape with Revolutionary Heroes. The child’s hands were green from climbing just moments before on the pollen-covered Henry Moore sculptur
