Time running out for fading photographs

Researchers at Basel University are warning that time is running out for museums and private collectors seeking to preserve photographs and video art.

They say the deterioration process for colour photographs is much quicker than previously realised.

They have shown that had Leonardo da Vinci been a photographer, the enigmatic smile of Mona Lisa would have almost disappeared.

“The average life of a colour photograph is 20 or 30 years,” Professor Rudolf Gschwind, the head of the research team, told swissinfo.

“We use the Mona Lisa as an example to show that if da Vinci had used a colour camera 400 years ago his masterpiece would today be a piece of paper with very faint traces.”

Because colour photography is one of the fastest-growing art forms, many collectors are following closely the progress of the Basel research.

Black and white images are also vulnerable to fading, although their life span is estimated to be up to 50 years longer.

Cold storage

Gschwind says one solution is humidity-controlled cold storage, but even that might not ensure permanence, merely slowing the fading process down.

“Besides,” he added, “it’s an expensive option and would make it difficult to actually see the photographs.”

Concern about the instability of photographs has led an American collector, Claudio Cesar, to set up The Cesar Foundation for the Visual Arts.

The organisation supports efforts to find “a worldwide solution for the long-term conservation of colour photography, film, video and all digital fine art media”.

Gschwind, who is a member of the foundation’s board of advisers, says the problem with video art is that equipment will eventually become obsolete and no machinery will be available to read the information.

As for colour photographs, he added: “There still remain a few questions to be carefully analysed… however, the results reached so far are very promising, and digital reconstruction is a powerful method to preserve them as a cultural value of our century.”

swissinfo, Richard Dawson in Basel

Key facts

The average lifespan of a colour photograph is 20 or 30 years.
Basel University researchers warn that time is running out for museums and private collectors seeking to preserve their photographs and video art.
The deterioration process is much quicker than had been realised.
Black and white images are also vulnerable to fading, although their lifespan is estimated to be up to 50 years longer.
Digital reconstruction is one option for preserving photographs.