J.CAC VOLUME 34 (2009)
A Technical and Scientific Study of Two A.Y. Jackson Paintboxes
Two paintboxes that once belonged to Canadian artist A.Y. Jackson were examined and their contents analyzed. One box is in the collection of the Ottawa Art Gallery (OAG) and the other in the collection of the Canadian Museum of Civilization (CMC). These two paintboxes represent two different periods of Jackson’s life. The OAG paintbox was used by the artist from 1936 until 1950. The CMC paintbox was used during his years in the Ottawa area from 1955 until 1968, and possibly prior to 1955 during his time in Toronto. The OAG paintbox consists of a base with a compartment that functioned as a palette and a small compartment for brushes and tools; the top of the paintbox functions as an easel and can hold up to two panels. The CMC paintbox contains tubes of oil paint and a separate palette with remnants of paint. Similar pigments were found in the oil paint left on both the OAG and CMC palettes: ultramarine blue, cerulean blue, viridian, yellow iron oxide, chrome yellow, cadmium yellow, cadmium red, orange iron oxide, titanium white, and zinc white. In addition, Prussian blue, chromium oxide green, and an organic red pigment were found on the OAG palette, while chrome green (i.e., a mixture of Prussian blue and chrome yellow), lead white, alizarin, and Vandyke brown were found on the CMC palette. Three tubes in the CMC paintbox contained pigments that were not identified on the palette: two tubes containing cobalt blue and one containing emerald green.
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