Roy Lichtenstein's Whaam! is one of the most popular works in Tate's collection and has been on almost constant display since it was acquired in 1966. The materials used to create the painting are challenging for conservators, as they don't react well to traditional cleaning methods. Our conservation team have spent months trialling and evaluating different techniques for treating the work. At last, a ground-breaking treatment broadly based on nanotechnology has allowed us to clean the work in a safe and controlled way, for the very first time in the painting's history.
The treatment has been made possible thanks to a new gel created by our NANORESTART project collaborators at CSGI Florence.
