* * * * The establishment at the National Gallery
of a laboratory for the examination of pictures is another step in the march of Modern science, which today pene- trates the secrets of artists, shows where a picture has been re-painted or reveals a signature that has been obscured. But the National Gallery is not the pioneer. The Courtauld Institute, under Professor Constable, was established with this object especially in view—to provide a laboratory for the examination of pictures, the testing of pigments, and the training of experts fully qualified to undertake the care of paintings and other works of art. It is rather absurd that the rule of the National Gallery that no picture should leave the building cannot be relaxed to the extent of allowing pictures to be sent to a workshop half a mile away.
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