In 2010, the AXA ART Research Grant was awarded to le Centre de Recherche sur la Conservation des Collections (CRCC) in Paris. This two-year grant funded an examination of preventive measures to protect works on paper, such as fine art photography, prints, drawings, and watercolors, from damage caused by exposure to light. At the end of the project, the CRCC will introduce an improved device—called a dosimeter—to estimate the amount of cumulative light a work of art has been exposed to while on display and to indicate overexposure.

This project will especially focus on photography. Enthusiasts of fine art photography appreciate the beauty of photographs as well as the actual subject matter which often captures visual documentation of moments ranging from geopolitical events to intimate family events or portraits. The goal of the AXA ART/CRCC collaboration is to make collectors more knowledgeable about photography’s fragile nature and to help explore solutions that address its unique preservation issues.

The AXA ART Group and CRCC will make the research results of their collaboration available to collectors and all interested parties. Information on preventive maintenance techniques will be distributed to private collectors and institutions through a series of newsletters, lectures, and exhibitions. In addition, the new generation of dosimeters conceived by the CRCC will be introduced into the market and distributed by an archival supply retailer. The AXA ART Group also will make the device available to its clients and partners.

For more information, please visit the CRCC website.