James Roth was born in California, Missouri on May 11, 1910. He attended the Kansas City Art Institute and in 1933 he began working at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. He became interested in art conservation while assisting a French restorer, Marcel Rouguon, who was hired to work on the collection. In 1938, he received a Carnegie Grant to study at the Fogg Museum. He returned to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art to establish and head the restoration department. In 1939, he also employed the skills he learned at Harvard to execute three large panels in the traditional gesso and tempera method at the Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral in Kansas City. In 1953, Roth discovered a design layer beneath a Twelfth Century Chinese wall panel which had been given to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. He devised a method to separate the two layers and uncovered a Tenth Century painting underneath. Roth died on May 19, 1990.
From the description of James Roth collection, 1947-1975. (Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art). WorldCat record id: 499190436
Born in Rahway, New Jersey on December 7, 1925. Education: A.B. Chemistry, University of West Virginia (1947), Ph.D., physical chemistry, University of Maryland (1951). Employment: 1951-1954 Franklin Institute, 1954-1956 Lehigh Paint and Chemicals, Inc. 1956-1959 General Aniline & Film Corporation, 1959-1960 Franklin Institute, 1960-1980 Monsanto Company.
From the description of Oral history interview with James F. Roth 1995 January 23 (Chemical Heritage Foundation). WorldCat record id: 746329461
