Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice

paper resulted in a volume of correspondence and a leading article in the
Times. The background to this can be traced in the Roberson Archive, as
the anonymous colorman cited by Hunt as supplying him with adulterated
paint was, in fact, Roberson.
It is significant that Hunt did not transfer his account from Roberson to
another colorman and continued to buy from the company until shortly
before his death. Roberson took his accusations seriously and painted out
samples of pigment and made up a chart of a number of aging tests they had
carried out (Plate 5). The company's concern for the quality of its pigments
is evident in the twentieth century when it used a chemical laboratory to
analyze samples of pigment from the wholesale suppliers. Roberson also sent
materials to artists fo r testing; and he corresponded with both Professor
Church, professor of chemistry at the Royal Academy, and Helmut Ruhemann
at the National Gallery in developing and assessing materials. A project
to analyze pigments in the archive fo r adulterants has been carried out at the
Hamilton Kerr Institute with mixed results: a small number of spectacularly
adulterated pigments (with much use of fillers and extenders) were found,
but there was less adulteration than the literature of the time and Hunt's
accusations would suggest (28).
Information from objects
The archive contains a number of objects, most of which can be identified
in the company's catalogues. These objects provide a useful set of references
against which to check the documentary information. For example, analysis
of the pigment collection has revealed the unreliability of many of the recipe
books, with adulteration and substitution being common. The objects in the
collection also illustrate the development in the nineteenth century of paint
containers, including both a paint bladder and the ivory pins used fo r piercing
it, a set of brass paint syringes, the forerunner of the collapsible tube, and
tubes adopted in the 1840s after they were first patented and advertised (Plate
6) .
Other activities of the company
In addition to supplying artists' materials, Roberson was involved in a number
of other activities that can be traced in various sources in the archive. These
included restoration, dealing, and publishing. Trade directories show that it
was not uncommon fo r color men to be dealers and restorers in the nineteenth
century, but gradually the professors came to be listed separately, although
Roberson's accounts indicate that the company continued all three
pursuits until its records end in the 1940s.
Historical context
Many aspects of the history of the Victorian and Edwardian period can be
gleaned from the Roberson Archive. The presence of an extensive empire is
felt both in terms of the materials bought from the colonies and in the
products supplied, which were designed to withstand extremes of climate not
experienced in Britain. Stylistic movements were also reflected in Roberson's
catalogues; materials for illumination, missal painting, and heraldic hatchments
became popular during the Gothic revival. Roberson also responded to the
Victorian expansion in public building and the popularity of painted interior
decoration by fo rmulating a number of media and specially prepared canvases
to imitate fresco. The company was involved in both supplying the materials
and erecting the canvases in a number of public buildings in Britain.
Roberson also supplied materials for the great explorations of the period
since, even though photography was used by this time, artists were still often
sent on expeditions to record the results. A tube of yellow ochre taken on
the 1912 Shackleton South Pole expedition was given to Roberson by the
expedition artist George Marston on his return. When the expedition was
Woodcock 35