The Chubb Group of Insurance Companies has donated a damaged painting to the Morris Louis Conservation Fund, which helps conserve works by Morris Louis and other Color Field painters.

Louis was an American Abstract Expressionist painter who emerged in the 1950s. His paintings have been linked to those of Robert Motherwell, Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko, whose works included large areas of solid color.

The painting Chubb donated, “Delta KSI,” had sustained severe damage due to a fire and sprinkler discharge in New York. Chubb took possession of the work after settling an insurance claim with a private collector.

“Rather than destroy the painting, we decided to donate it to the Morris Louis Conservation Fund for educational and conservation purposes,” said Dorit Straus, worldwide fine arts manager at Chubb Personal Insurance. “While current conservation techniques are unable to repair this work, the fund can use the painting to research new techniques and practices.”

“It’s very rare to have a painting donated exclusively for conservation research purposes,” said Diane Upright, a member of the board of the Morris Louis Conservation Fund. “The fund has supported conservation research since its inception, and, hopefully, this painting will help us advance the practice of conservation in a way that can benefit the art community as a whole.”

The Morris Louis Conservation Fund was founded in 2001 as a nonprofit Maryland corporation to fund the conservation of Louis’ paintings in public museums and to support research related to the conservation of Color Field paintings.

Chubb Group of Insurance Companies is at 15 Mountain View Road. For information, 908-903-2107.

For more information on the Morris Louis Conservation Fund in Bethesda, contact Ann Garfinkle at 202-659-6819 or Diane Upright Fine Arts, LLC, at 188 East 76th Street, New York, NY 10021; 212-734-3072.