art conservation and restoration

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Removal of adherent surface deposits by physical chemical means (by cotton swab). Church of Suceviţa Monastery, burial chamber. Romania, Suceava.

Conservation-restoration, also referred to as Conservation, is a profession devoted to the preservation of cultural heritage for the future. Conservation activities include examination, documentation, treatment, and preventive care. All of this work is supported by research and education.

Defining Conservation-restoration

The traditional definition of the role of the conservator involves the examination, conservation, and preservation of cultural heritage using "any methods that prove effective in keeping that property in as close to its original condition as possible for as long as possible.” ^[1]

However, today the definition of the role of conservation has widened and would more accurately be described as that of ethical stewardship.

The conservator applies some simple ethical guidelines, such as:

• Minimal intervention.
• Appropriate materials and methods that aim to be reversible to reduce possible problems with future treatment, investigation, and use.
• Full documentation of all work undertaken.

The conservator aims to take into account the views of the stakeholder and to apply their professional expertise accordingly .

Conservation Ethics

The conservator's work is guided by ethical standards. These take the form of applied ethics. Ethical standards have been established across the world, and national and international ethical guidelines have been written. One such example is:

• American Institute for Conservation Code of Ethics and Guidelines for Practice [1]

Conservation OnLine's Ethical issues in conservation provides a number of articles on ethical issues in conservation; example of codes of ethics and guidelines for professional conduct in conservation and allied fields; and charters and treaties pertaining to ethical issues involving the preservation of cultural property.

Specialization within the profession

The profession of art conservation is broad and encomposses many areas of speciality. Some specialities within art conservation would include:

• Book and paper conservation
• Conservation science
• Electronic media conservation
  • Digital preservation
  • Media preservation
  • Phonograph record preservation
• Historic preservation
  • Architectural conservation
• Object conservation (archaeological, ethnographic, and sculptural)
• Furniture conservation
• Frame conservation
• Paintings conservation
• Photograph conservation
  • Film preservation
• Textile Conservation
• Variable art conservation

Caring for Cultural Heritage

Preventive Conservation

Many cultural works are sensitive to environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity and exposure to light and ultraviolet light. They must be protected in a controlled environment where such variables are maintained within a range of damage-limiting levels. Shielding from sunlight of artifacts such as watercolour paintings for example is usually necessary to prevent fading of pigments.

Preventive conservation is an important element of museum policy and collections care. It is an essential responsibility of members of the museum profession to create and maintain a protective environment for the collections in their care, whether in store, on display, or in transit. A museum should carefully monitor the condition of collections to determine when an artifact requires conservation work and the services of a qualified conservator.

Work of preventive conservation in a rock wall with prehistoric paintings at the Serra da Capivara National Park. The work consists of filling the cracks to prevent the fragmentation of the wall.

Interventive Conservation

Interventive Conservation refers to any act by a conservator that involves a direct interaction between the conservator and the cultural material. These interventive treatments could involve cleaning, stabilizing, repair, or even replacement of parts of the origial object. It is essential that the conservator should fully justify any such work. Complete documentation of the work; carried out before, during, and after the treatment rules out chances of later doubts.

The principal goal of a conservator is to nullify or atleast reduce the rate of deterioration of the object. This is achieved through a series of actions, both interventive and non interventive. Cleaning helps in removal of dust on the surface of an idol to translucent decolourised varnish on a oil painting or even a destructive patina formed on the surface of a bronze artefact. Stabilization treatments are aimed at helping the object to survive better in its given environment. Consolidation of a flaking paint layer or buffering an acidic document are examples for this. Repairs are carried out; some times to cover up an eye soaring loss, in some cases to strengthen the object, or else as a part of restoration to maintain the aestetic beauty of the specimen.

What ever be the method, reversibility of conservation treatments is ensured. Alterations are performed in only that case where it can help a better preservation status for the object. All alterations should be well documented and should be clearly distinguishable from the original object or specimen.^[2]

The History of Conservation

Key Dates

This page contains a list of some of the key dates in the history of conservation in Europe and the United States, compiled by Joyce Hill Stoner. Beginning in 1565 with the restoration of the Sistine Chapel frescoes.

A Brief History of Conservation

The care for cultural patrimony has a long history within traditions of fixing and mending objects,^[3] and in individual restorations of artworks. During the nineteenth century, the fields of science and art became increasingly intertwined as scientists such as Michael Faraday began to study the damaging effects of the environment to works of art. Louis Pasteur carried out scientific analysis on paint during this time period as well.^[4] However, perhaps the first organised attempt to conserve cultural patrimony was the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings in the UK, influenced by the writings of John Ruskin the society was founded by William Morris and Philip Webb in 1877. During the same period a movement with similar aims had also developed in France under the direction of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc a French architect and theorist, famous for his "restorations" of medieval buildings.

Conservation developed as a distinct field of thought initially in Germany, when in 1888 Friedrich Rathgen became the first Chemist to be employed by a Museum, the Koniglichen Museen, Berlin (Royal Museums of Berlin). He not only developed a scientific approach to the care of objects in the collections, but disseminated this approach publishing a "Handbook of Conservation" in 1898. ^[5] The early development of conservation in any area of the world is usually linked to the creation of positions for chemists within museums. In 1924 in the UK the chemist Harold Plenderleith began to work at the British Museum with Dr. Alexander Scott in the newly created Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, thus giving birth to the conservation profession in the UK. ^[6] This department had been created by the museum to address objects in the collection that had begun to rapidly deteriorate as a result of being stored in the London Underground tunnels during the First World War. The development of this department at the British Museum moved the focus for the development of conservation from Germany to Britain, and in 1956 Plenderleith wrote a significant handbook called The Conservation of Antiquities and Works of Art, it was this book rather than Rathgen's that is commonly seen as the major source for the development of conservation as we know it today.

In the United States the development of conservation can be traced to the Fogg Art Museum, and Edward Waldo Forbes, the Director of the Fogg from 1909 to 1944. He encouraged technical investigation, and was Chairman of the Advisory Committee for the first technical journal, Technical Studies, in the Field of the Fine Arts, published by the Fogg from 1932 to 1942. Importantly he also brought onto the museum staff chemists. Rutherford John Gettens was the first chemist in the U. S. to be permanently employed by an art museum. He worked with George L. Stout, the founder and first editor of Technical Studies. Gettens and Stout co-authored Painting Materials: A Short Encyclopaedia, first published in 1942 and reprinted in 1966. This compendium is still cited regularly. Only a few dates and descriptions in Gettens’ and Stout’s book are now outdated. ^[7]

The focus of conservation development then accelerated in Britain and America, and it was in Britain that the first International Conservation Organisations developed. The International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (IIC) was incorporated under British law in 1950 as “a permanent organization to co-ordinate and improve the knowledge, methods, and working standards needed to protect and preserve precious materials of all kinds.” ^[8] The rapid growth of conservation professional organizations, publications, journals, newsletters, both internationally and in localities, has spearheaded the development of the conservation profession, both practically and theoretically. Art historians and theorists such as Cesare Brandi have also played a significant role in developing conservation-restoration theory. In recent years ethical concerns have been at the forefront of developments in conservation. Most significantly has been the idea of Preventive conservation. This concept is based in part on the pioneering work by Garry Thomson CBE, and his book the Museum Environment, first published in 1978. ^[9] Thomson was associated with the National Gallery (London), it was here that he established a set of guidelines or environmental controls for the best conditions in which objects could be stored and displayed within the Museum Environment. Although his exact guidelines are no longer rigidly followed they did inspire this field of conservation.

The Lunder Conservation Center. Conservation staff for both the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery are visible to the public through floor-to-ceiling glass walls that allow visitors to see firsthand all the techniques that Conservators use to examine, treat and preserve artworks within a functioning conservation Laboratory.

The Conservation Laboratory

Conservators routinely use chemical and scientific analysis for the examination and treatment of cultural works. The modern conservation lab uses equipment such as microscopes, spectrometers, and x-ray machines to better understand objects and their components. The data thus collected helps in deciding the conservation treatments to be provided to the object.

A Country by Country Look

The United States of America

Heritage Preservation, in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a U.S. federal agency, produced The Heritage Health Index. The results of this work was the report A Public Trust at Risk: The Heritage Health Index Report on the State of America’s Collections, which was published in December 2005 and concluded that immediate action is needed to prevent the loss of 190 million artifacts that are in need of conservation treatment. The report made four recommendations:

• Institutions must give priority to providing safe conditions for the collections they hold in trust.
• Every collecting institution must develop an emergency plan to protect its collections and train staff to carry it out.
• Every institution must assign responsibility for caring for collections to members of its staff.
• Individuals at all levels of government and in the private sector must assume responsibility for providing the support that will allow these collections to survive ^[10]

England

In October 2006, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, a governmental department, authored a document: "Understanding the Future: Priorities for England's Museums" ^[11] This document based on several years of consultation aimed to lay out the governments priorities for museums in the 21st Century.

The document listed the following as priorities for the next decade:

1. Museums will fulfilf their potential as learning resources (pp 7–10).
   • Museums will be embedded into the delivery of education in every school in the country.
   • Understanding of the effectiveness of museum education will be improved further and best practice built into education programmes.
   • The value of museums’ collections as a research resource will be well understood and better links built between the academic community and museums.
2. Museums will embrace their role in fostering, exploring, celebrating and questioning the identities of diverse communities (pp 11–14).
   • The sector needs to work with partners in academia and beyond to create an intellectual framework supporting museums’ capacity to tackle issues of identity.
   • The museum sector must continue to develop improved practical techniques for engaging communities of all sorts.
3. Museums' collections will be more dynamic and better used (pp 15–18).
   • Government and the sector will find new ways to encourage museums to collect actively and strategically, especially the record of contemporary society.
   • The sector will develop new collaborative approaches to sharing and developing collections and related expertise.
4. Museums' workforces will be dynamic, highly skilled and representative (pp 17–22).
   • Museums' governing bodies and workforces will be representative of the communities they serve.
   • Find more varied ways for a broader range of skills to come into museums.
   • Improve continuing professional development.
5. Museums will work more closely with each other and partners outside the sector (pp 23–26).
   • A consistent evidence base of the contribution of all kinds of museums to the full range of public service agendas will be developed.
   • There will be deeper and longer lasting partnerships between the national museums and a broader range of regional partners.
   • Museums’ international roles will be strengthened to improve museum programmes in this country and Britain’s image, reputation and relationships abroad.

The conservation profession response to this report was on the whole less than favourable, the Institute of Conservation (ICON) published their response under the title "A Failure of Vision"^[12]. It had the following to say:

Concluding:

Further to this the ICON website summary report^[13] lists the following specific recommendations:

• A national survey to find out what the public want from museums, what motivates them to visit them and what makes for a rewarding visit.
• A review of survey results and prioritisation of the various intrinsic, instrumental and institutional values to provide a clear basis for a 10-year strategy
• HR consultants to be brought in from the commercial sector to review recruitment, career development and working practices in the national and regional museums.
• A commitment to examine the potential for using Museum Accreditation as a more effective driver for improving recruitment, diversity, and career development across the sector.
• DCMS to take full account of the eventual findings of the current Commons Select Committee enquiry into Care of Collections in the final version of this document
• The adoption of those recommendations of the recent House of Lords enquiry into Science and Heritage which have a potential impact on the future of museums.

Training

Training conservation for many years took the form of an apprenticeship, whereby an apprentice slowly developed the necessary skills to undertake their job. For some specializations within conservation this is still the case. However, it is more common in the field of conservation today that the training required to become a practicing conservator comes from a recognized university course in conservation. ^[14]

The University can rarely provide all the necessary training in first hand experience that an apprenticeship can, and therefore in addition to graduate level training the profession also tends towards encouraging conservation students to spend time as an intern.

Conservation is an Interdisciplinary field as conservators have backgrounds in the fine arts, sciences (including chemistry, biology, and materials science), and closely related disciplines, such as art history, archaeology, studio art, and anthropology. They also have design, fabrication,artistic, and other special skills necessary for the practical application of that knowledge.

Within the various schools that teach conservation, the approach differs according the educational and vocational system within the country, and the focus of the school itself. This is acknowledged by the American Institute for Conservation who advise "Specific admission requirements differ and potential candidates are encouraged to contact the programs directly for details on prerequisites, application procedures, and program curriculum". ^[15]

Conservation Associations and Professional Organizations

Societies devoted to the care of cultural heritage have been in existence around the world for many years. One early example is the founding in 1877 of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings in Britain to protect the built heritage, this society continues to be active today. ^[16]

The built heritage was also at the forefront of the growth of member based organizations in the United States for example, founded in 1889, the Richmond, Virginia-based Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities was the United States' first statewide historic preservation group. In 2003 it changed its name to reflect its wider focus in statewide preservation issues. ^[17]

Today, professional conservators join and take part in the activities of numerous conservation associations and professional organizations with the wider conservation field, and within their area of specialization.

These organizations exist to "support the conservation professionals who preserve our cultural heritage".^[18]

This involves upholding professional standards, promoting research and publications, providing educational opportunities, and fostering the exchange of knowledge among conservators, allied professionals, and the public.

References

1. ^ Walston, S. 1978. p.9 The Preservation and Conservation of Aboriginal and Pacfic Cultural Material in Australian Museums. ICCM Bulletin Vol 4 no. 1. December 1978. Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Materials (Inc).
2. ^ ICOM-CC International Council of Museums Committee for Conservation]
3. ^ Pye, E, 2001. Caring for the Past: Issues in Conservation for Archaeology and Museums. London: James and James
4. ^ Stoner, Joyce Hill. 2005. p. 41. “Changing Approaches in Art Conservation: 1925 to the present” in (Sackler NAS Colloquium) Scientific Examination of Art: Modern Techniques in Conservation and Analysis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11413&page=41
5. ^ Gilberg, Mark. (1987) Friedrich Rathgen: The Father of Modern Archaeological Conservation. Journal of the American Institute for Conservation, Vol. 26, No. 2 (Autumn, 1987), pp. 105-120 http://aic.stanford.edu/jaic/articles/jaic26-02-004_2.html
6. ^ http://www.britishmuseum.org/the_museum/departments/conservation_and_science/history.aspx
7. ^ Stoner, Joyce Hill. "Changing Approaches in Art Conservation: 1925 to the present". The publication exists in two editions. The earlier one is " Scientific Examination of Art: Modern Techniques on Conservation and Analysis" and was published by the National Academy of Sciences in 2003. The later edition of the publication is "Arthur M. Sackler Colloquia: Scientific Examination of Art: Modern Techniques in Conservation and Analysis". It was published by the National Academies Press in 2005.
8. ^ Stoner, Joyce Hill. "Changing Approaches in Art Conservation: 1925 to the present". The publication exists in two editions. The earlier one is " Scientific Examination of Art: Modern Techniques on Conservation and Analysis" and was published by the National Academy of Sciences in 2003. The later edition of the publication is "Arthur M. Sackler Colloquia: Scientific Examination of Art: Modern Techniques in Conservation and Analysis". It was published by the National Academies Press in 2005.
9. ^ Museum Environment (2nd Edition), 1986, by Garry Thomson CBE ISBN 978-0-7506-2041-3
10. ^ Heritage Health Index
11. ^ http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/consultations/cons_uf_prioritiesforenglandsmuseums.pdf
12. ^ http://www.icon.org.uk/images/stories/icon_understanding_the_future.pdf
13. ^ http://www.icon.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=400&Itemid=15
14. ^ http://aic.stanford.edu/education/becoming/contrain.pdf
15. ^ AIC - Becoming a Conservator
16. ^ SPAB: History of the SPAB
17. ^ APVA Preservation Virginia
18. ^ About AIC - Overview

External links

General Conservation Resources

• BCIN, the Bibliographic Database of the Conservation Information Network
• CAMEO: Conservation and Art Materials Encyclopedia OnLine
• Conservation OnLine (CoOL) Resources for Conservation Professionals, "a project of the Preservation Department of Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources."
• Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation, a Department of Melbourne University.
• DOCAM — Documentation and Conservation of the Media Arts Heritage "to address the issues of preserving and documenting digital, technological and electronic works of art."
• Integrated Pest Management Working Group Website
• International Council of Museums (ICOM) Code of Ethics for Museums, 2006
• museumkids/What is Art Conservation? - The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2001.
• Research Resources at the Getty Conservation Institute, including the AATA (formerly "Art and Archaeology Technical Abstracts") search engine, bibliographies for various topics, cultural heritage policy documents, and links to other conservation-related Web sites.
• Caring for Heritage Collections Online Course. An online course in preventive conservation issues for museum professionals, University of Melbourne, School of Historical Studies: Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation.

Scholarly Journals

• Journal of the American Institute for Conservation
• ICOM-CC Ethnographic Newsletter
• Victoria and Albert Museum Conservation Journal
• Journal of Conservation and Museum Studies
• Tate Papers
• Getty Conservation Institute Newsletter
• The Book and Paper Group - American Institute for Conservation
• The Abbey Newsletter
• e-conservation magazine
• Recent Setbacks in Conservation Online
• CeROArt. on-line magazine devoted to a multidisciplinary approach to questions of Conservation, exposition, Restoration of Objets d’Art
• [2]

Conservation and the Public

• UPenn's Architectural Conservation Lab
• You be the Conservator
• Lunder Conservation Center
• Conservation Advice Notes - Portable Antiquities Scheme
• Objects Conservation — Provided by the Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History.
• Conservation Report on Mukul Dey Archives by C. B. Gupta
• Public Art Restoration Services
• Freeview Video 'Science and Fine Art' by David Bomford of the National Gallery. A Royal Institution Lecture showing how scientific techniques aid conservation by the Vega Science Trust.
• New York Academy of Science Podcast about Ad Reinhardt's Black Painting and its restoration
• Preserv'Art - Interactive database of products used in conservation by the CCQ
• Agents of Deterioration - a Game from Liverpool Museum

Specific Conservation Resources

• Animation Art Conservation discusses the preservation of animation art and has many interviews with animation artists that detail their original intent and frequently how they made their art.
• EverGreene Architectural Arts, Inc. - conservators of architectural art [3]