Lithographs by Gaganendra Nath Tagore

The team conserved a set of lithographs by Gaganendra Nath Tagore between 2018 and 2019. These lithographs were documented and worked upon by the conservators for a period of 5 months.

This set of lithographs titled, ‘Realm of the Absurd’, had 19 units in total along with a damaged binder. The primary support had turned brittle, especially at the edges. There were losses, tears, termite holes, and creases and fold marks were present on the edges. Dust and dirt had accumulated and foxing stains were evident.

The lithographs went through treatments requiring minimal intervention. The damaged binder was removed and restored, dry and aqueous cleaning was performed, the works were flattened and tears were mended. We decided not to do anything about the holes and only the tears and weak areas  posing threat to the artwork in future were taken care of. Some of the works were even given strip lining to strengthen the weak edges.