In 1995 I was working on a project where the interior designer had purchased traditional picture lights for a very expensive art collection. The traditional picture light only lit the top 6 inches, while the bottom of the painting remained dark. The museum currator cautioned the owner about using picture lights with exposed incandescent lamps. He told the owner the radiant heat would literally bake the painting and that the process of heating and cooling overtime would eventually crack the varnished finish as well as fade the pigments from the unfiltered light. The client called and I was given the task to find an acceptable light. I first reviewed all of the products that were already available but none met the requirements of RP30-96 or were too modern for the traditional frames.

Client's problem picture light with exposed lamps

Masterpiece Series™ 3 lamp 24" Gold Painting is 40"x30"

I designed and built the first prototype in 1996 with acceptable lighting performance. I decided to redesign the fixture with an internal transformer and dimmer after I found the perfect low wattage MR-11 lamp with a dicroic heat filters. After months of new designs and testing prototypes, the glass spread lens was finished and included the patented Optivex UV filter.  I have just developed a new optical system that reduces the UV level far better"See products page" Click on image to see larger version

Masterpiece Series™ 4 lamp 30" Gold Painting is 43"x34"

My first project was completed in February of  1999 and the clients were overjoyed to see clarity and details of their 17th and 18th century dark paintings. The owner's wife gasped and said "My God, there's a mule in this painting." The owner replied "yes dear, and he's been there for the past 38 years I've owned it." When paintings are mounted above fireplaces or higher than the viewer, my lights can be mounted to light up to reduce reflections.

Before