PUR Facts: Conservation of Polyurethane Foam in Art and Design

Flexible Polyurethane (PUR) foams have been used since the 1950s in textiles and furniture upholsteries, and in art and design objects that can now be found in museum collections. Composed from “short-life” consumer materials, these objects present severe conservation problems as they age. This book presents an in-depth examination of the challenges presented by PUR foams; the case studies of preservation of two works by the artist Piero Gilardi; and a manual on preparing and applying a light stabilizing system that can protect new PUR foams from degrading and restore the flexibility of old foams.