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I asked Rick January, of Fredrix, whether his company still used lead priming on its lead-primed linen, and Rix specifically, and he confirmed that it was still being primed with lead.
My conservator contacts at the National Gallery have repeatedly expressed concern over the hide glue sizing of pre-primed canvases, which imposes fairly extreme changes in canvas tension as the glue expands and contracts in reaction to fluctuations in humidity. Ultimately, this can be expected to lead to cracking of the paint layer, after the paint film has stiffened with age. Some people don't care if this happens to their paintings, but I think it's important that they be aware of it, at least.
Virgil Elliott
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