This year marks the centennial of American artist Joan Mitchell’s (1925–1992) birth. To celebrate, the Joan Mitchell Foundation is supporting numerous exhibitions, lectures, and events in her honor. The Worcester Art Museum is grateful to have their support towards the exhibition and treatment of an iconic painting by Mitchell in the collection: Blue Tree (1964). Painting on canvas, Mitchell manipulated oil paints to apply both dense, matte impasto and thin, glossy washes to the primed surface. These choices create diverse textures and sheens, drawing the viewer’s eye across the painting. The Museum was fortunate to acquire this work in 1965 shortly after its creation and debut at the Stable Gallery in New York.
Intermittent display and loan over the last 60 years has caused a fine layer of dark gray grime to accumulate across the unvarnished paint surface, muting and dulling the original tonality intended by Mitchell. The materials used to repair old paint instability and losses have also shifted in color and sheen, making them no longer match the surrounding original material. Over the course of 2025, WAM’s two painting conservators, Matthew Cushman and Blair Bailey Schwartz, are systematically examining and documenting the painting, as well as carrying out treatment. Once testing is complete, they will use a custom-designed aqueous-based system to delicately remove the grime. They will also carefully reverse the previous repairs, stabilize original material as needed with reversible materials, and apply stable, archival-grade materials to replicate the missing areas where possible.
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Visitors will be able to watch this entire process unfold live in the While We Build gallery (215), where the painting will remain on view throughout treatment. In addition to enabling the painting to be shown during Mitchell’s centennial, this work is being done in the galleries to make way for ongoing upgrades to the Fuller Conservation Lab, part of the Museum’s larger campus transformation efforts.
Stop by over the coming months to see Matthew and Blair’s progress as they work their way across this monumental painting’s complex, delicate surface.
This article was featured in the spring/summer 2025 edition of the Worcester Art Museum’s access Member magazine.
While We Build is ongoing.
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