Interest in the Chinese American artist C. Y. Woo (1899 – 1989), also known as Wu Zhongxiong, has been growing as scholars better understand his role as an artist in Shanghai in the early 20th century. Otterbein University has the largest collection (1500 objects) of Woo paintings and related paraphernalia, and our Museum and Galleries Director has begun a more in-depth study of his work in collaboration with the Cincinnati Art Museum and arranged for conservation of some of his paintings. This study was begun as part of the larger project to better understand the materials used by Woo in his practice and to see if they changed after he immigrated to the United States from China in the 1960s. Raman spectroscopy, fiber optic reflectance spectroscopy (FORS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to analyze seal-inks and seals in the collection, as well as seal imprints on some of the paintings. Woo’s remaining watercolor paints and the watercolors on some of his paintings were also studied.

Technical art analysis of the Woo collection at Otterbein University

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