Experts will use 3D imaging technology to assess art damage

As the Associated Press reports, art conservation experts in Santa Fe and Chicago will use this type of technology to detect, track and analyze a particular type of chemical buildup found on many of O'Keeffe's paintings that cause thousands of tiny blisters to form and grow. Canvases used by O'Keeffe and many other 20th century artists were primed with non-drying fats or oils and when they combine with pigments or drying agents, it can lead to a buildup of soap that causes the blisters. "They're a little bit bigger than human hair, and you can see them with the naked eye," Dale Kronkright, an art conservationist at the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, told the AP. And when enough of those little blisters show up, they can begin to darken a painting. "Left unchecked, they will continue to grow, both grow in number and grow in size -- and in damaging effect," Konkright said.