On the Flip Side: Secret on the Backs of Paintings

This exhibition allows guests the rare chance to view paintings from all sides, including the backs where interesting details about their history, composition, and condition reside. This information can reveal clues about the works’ previous ownership, the economy of artists in reusing materials, early attempts to prevent the artworks from warping, and on occasion detailed inscriptions about the artwork’s construction that can assist conservators in preserving a work of art.

Image Credit: Joseph Albers (American, 1888–1976), Orange-Yellow with Pink (Casa Series) (verso) (detail), 1948, oil on Masonite, 14-1/2 × 21-1/4 in. Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, Gift of the Joseph Cantor Collection, 1991.300 © The Josef Anni Albers Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.