Disfiguring phenomena occurring on surfaces or on protective glazings of art works were analyzed at the Canadian Conservation Institute by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and hot stage microscopy. Transferred images on glass from various paintings and prints executed in oil were composed of fatty or waxy organic ketones, acids, and carboxylate soaps. A mechanism of formation is proposed whereby scission products produced by oxidation of drying oil media volatize, then deposit on the glass where they may undergo further reaction with the glass. Composition and mechanism of formation of these transferred images were different from those previously reported, as they contain organic compounds only. Analysis of blooms on oil paintings and various ethnographic objects containing or treated with oils showed that they consisted of fatty acids and soaps of fatty acids, produced by oxidative decomposition of the oil and subsequent reaction with inorganic components, e.g., pigments, in the oil or on the object. A mechanism of formation is proposed, syneresis, based on exudation of components from the oils as the oil shrinks or otherwise changes with oxidation. No ammonium sulfate was observed. These blooms are not a result of atmospheric pollution as is reported in other studies. -- AATA