42nd Annual Meeting – Paintings Session, May 29 “Illumination For Inpainting: Selecting an Appropriate Color Temperature” by Steven Weintraub

So why do conservators prefer northern daylight for inpainting? In Steven Weintraub’s talk titled “Illumination For Inpainting: Selecting an Appropriate Color Temperature” which he presented in the Paintings Session at the 42nd Annual Meeting in San Francisco, he answered this question, as well as a few others about light sources and selecting an appropriate color temperature.
Steven explained how, in his opinion, it is the distribution pattern of skylight that helps make it so ideal. When diffuse skylight from a north-facing window enters a room, there is a “soft” directionality. This type of light distribution avoids the problem of harsh shadows typically associated with point sources of light. It also avoids the opposite problem of flatness due to the absence of shadows, a condition associated with diffuse sources such as over-head fluorescent lamps.
Using only skylight or daylight for inpainting, however, sets the conservator up for two problems: The first, as Steven mentioned in his abstract, is that the availability and control of northern daylight limits the amount of time, and the location in which it can be used. This becomes a real problem if you happen to be facing a tight deadline during the short winter days in the northeast, or like myself, have constantly changing lighting conditions, such as those during the bout of thunderstorms that we often have here during Houston summers. The second problem, which Steven explained in more detail during his talk, is that the spectral power distribution of typical sources of gallery lighting is pretty much the opposite to that of daylight. The result is that if inpainting is done only with daylight, it increases the risk of metamerism when exhibiting the artwork in an electric lighting situation utilizing a warm color temperature source.
It is for both these reasons that many conservators opt for a mix of electric light and daylight for inpainting, and when possible, test the matching of inpainting in the lighting conditions for which it will be displayed.
But, how does one choose an appropriate electric light source? Steven explained his research and suggested that selecting an appropriate color temperature with adequate color rendering properties was a key.
Apparently, color temperature in the range of 3800° Kelvin is the magic number. From Steven’s talk, I learned that color temperature within the 3800°K range is the transition point between warm to cool on the color temperature scale. Within this color temperature range, Steven theorizes that one gets the best balance of saturation with warm and cool colors.
Steven concluded his talk by illuminating a pair of reproductions of a very well known painting by René Magritte, demonstrating the difference in appearance of the image in various color temperature lighting conditions. This showed how the moderate (3800°K) range really did look the best.

42nd Annual Meeting – Awards

2014 AIC Annual Meeting honors creativity, vision, and experience with awards for professionals
Every year at the Annual Meeting, AIC honors distinguished professionals in conservation practice and education, as well as allied professionals who have contributed to our field.  The Emerging Conservation Professionals Network contacted the honorees for this year’s awards and asked them a few questions about their background and ideas on the current state of the conservation profession.
MONONA ROSSOL, INDUSTRIAL HYGIENIST/FOUNDER of ARTS, CRAFTS, AND THEATER SAFETY:
Monona Rossol has been honored this year with the AIC’s Special Recognition for Allied Professionals.   This award recognizes the work of valued colleagues from allied fields who have contributed to conservation with their expertise and spirit of interdisciplinary collaboration.
ECPN:  In a few sentences, tell us about your professional background.
MR: I have three degrees from the University of Wisconsin: a BS in Chemistry with a minor in Math, and two art degrees, an MS and MFA.  I was a co-founder of the first nonprofit dedicated to art safety in 1977, when I began working as an industrial hygienist.  In 1984, I was approved for full membership in the American Industrial Hygiene Association.  In 1987, I founded another nonprofit called Arts, Crafts and Theater Safety and am currently its president.
ECPN: When did you first become interested or involved in museum professionals’ specific industrial hygiene issues?
MR: I worked as a research chemist to put myself through graduate school for art.  It became apparent to me that many of the same hazardous chemicals used in the labs were also used in the Art Department but without any training, ventilation, or safety equipment.  My first lectures on this subject were in 1962 in graduate school.  When I set up my first art studio near Madison, WI, the State Historical Society was aware of my dual interests and asked me if I could do some conservation for them, especially painted furniture and ceramic conservation.  When I moved to New York City, I also did other objects work.
ECPN: What do you feel are the greatest strengths of the conservation profession today?
MR: The strength of the conservation profession today is in the growing number of conservators with strong backgrounds in chemistry and related sciences.  For example, when I OSHA-train young people at Winterthur now, I can discuss issues at a vastly higher level than I could have 30 or even 15 years ago.
ECPN: How did you first become involved with AIC?
MR: I’ve been an AIC member since 1981 and had a bit to do with their first Health and Safety Committee.  I would have trouble counting all the times I’ve done lectures, workshops and training sessions at AIC conferences and events over those years.
ECPN: Do you have any words of advice for emerging conservation professionals, as an educator, advocate, or professional?
MR:  Just keep studying.  I never stop taking courses and workshops and reading everything I can get my hands on.  I suggest we all do this.  Everything you learn about your profession can be useful at some point.  Besides, it’s fun.  If it’s not, you are in the wrong field.
WALTER HENRY, MANAGER OF CoOL and CONSERVATION DISTLIST:
Walter Henry was awarded an Honorary Membership this year by the AIC Board of Directors in recognition of his exceptional contributions to conservation in his work with online resources like CoOL and the Conservation DistList.
ECPN: In a few sentences, tell us about your professional background.
WH: I started out as a book repairer for the collections at Stanford in the early 70s. In 1978 there was a flood and over 54,000 books got wet. The woman in charge of that program […] was Sally Buchannan, who went on to be one of the finest library preservationists ever. The flood work lasted until about 1980. The money that we got from insurance and law suits funded the nascent conservation/preservation department. There was no budget for conservation staff […] so for the first six months I was the secretary.
I never had formal academic training in conservation. Don Etherington, who is responsible for more book conservators of my generation than anyone else, took me under his wing as my mentor.
I spent a lot of time at the computer center and my son came home one day with something that amazed me: a print out of a Usenet forum. Someone would make an outrageous comment and others would respond, on and on until the subject was dead.  Around the same time, work was being done to make searchable texts.  The DistList started in 1987 with an announcement on the bulletin board at the AIC annual meeting and grew from there. Managing the software started taking up more of my time, and I had more aptitude for that than for bench-work. Stanford was a wonderful place for me […] and they ended up hosting the DistList and CoOL for many years.
ECPN: What do you feel are the greatest strengths of the conservation profession today? And our biggest challenges?
WH: I want to rephrase that as ‘What’s changed in the last years in the field of conservation?’
I think one thing is the shift to a general expectation that you will go to a formal graduate training program, and finish with a certain base level of knowledge and some skill.  Another shift I’ve seen is in conservation technicians.  A big part of it was the late Carolyn Rose and her Requisite Competencies for Conservation Technicians and Collection Care Specialists.
The development of the specialty groups within AIC is both a good and bad thing. The first few meetings I went to […] I learned a great deal from attending talks in paintings and objects. Now you can’t afford to miss any talks in your own specialty, but the quality of the talks has increased. The professionalism of the organization has grown, it’s a stronger organization than it was, and I think everyone recognizes that.
ECPN: What about the future, how can the field improve?
WH: I’m not going to answer that […] because my opinions aren’t the ones you should be listening to. I did some stuff I’m half proud of, but my vision for the future of CoOL isn’t where it should go. The advancements in conservation will come from young people rather than from people my age, that’s all I can say.
VICKI CASSMAN, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AT WINTERTHUR/UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE PROGRAM IN ART CONSERVATION
Vicki Cassman has been recognized by AIC this year with the Sheldon and Caroline Keck Award for her career in the education and training of conservation professionals.
ECPN: In a few sentences, tell us about your professional background.
VC: I am a conservation educator, working for the last eight years at the University of Delaware, directing the undergraduate program in art conservation. Prior to this I taught anthropology and museum studies, and practiced as an itinerant textile conservator. My educational background includes a BA in Art History (UC-Davis), MS in both Art Conservation (University of Delaware) and Textile Science (UC-Davis) and a PhD in Anthropology (Arizona State University).
Conservation was a discovery I made while taking a gap year (1977) in college ‘to find myself.’  I was visiting a small museum while taking a traditional weaving course in Sweden and I asked a woman repairing artifacts what her job was called.  She said […] I could go to Stockholm and intern at the Nordiska Museum.  The director told me I should go back to the US and apply to the University of Delaware/Winterthur program, which he had recently toured and found to be very impressive.
ECPN: What achievements do you believe qualified you for the Keck award?
VC: I support my students and give them room to grow.  I believe in their abilities and if they work hard I will help them achieve their goals.  I am genuinely interested in teaching techniques and methods, and I am willing to try new things. I especially believe in active learning.
ECPN: How has the conservation field changed since you became a conservator? How do you think the field will evolve in the future?
VC: As I was finishing my conservation degree in 1985, preventive conservation was the new emphasis in the field, and I still believe this is vital and central to undergraduate art conservation education at University of Delaware.  Our new preservation challenge is in the digital world.  It will take a different set of skills and talents than we require currently for graduate school admissions. Designing a curriculum for digital, electronic, or time-based media preservation is an important challenge our field needs to address.
ECPN: Do you have any words of advice for Emerging Conservation Professionals or others who want to contribute to conservation and heritage preservation?
VC: The field is highly competitive, but we persist because we love the artifacts, and the stories and people associated with them.  Pursuing this field requires persistence and dedication.
Undergraduate art conservation programs are popping up around the country, and my advice when considering these programs, is to ask how many professional conservators are on the faculty, who can mentor on a regular basis.  In general, it is very possible to prepare yourself (without a program) for graduate admission for art conservation, but it is not easy.
SUZANNE DAVIS, HEAD CONSERVATOR, KELSEY MUSEUM OF ARCHAEOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
Suzanne Davis is the recipient of the AIC’s Conservation Advocacy Award, which recognizes conservation professionals who promote and enrich our field through outreach and advocacy.
ECPN: In a few sentences, tell us about your professional background.
SD: I head the conservation department at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, where I’ve worked for 13 years. I also provide field conservation for the museum’s excavations in the Mediterranean, Middle East, and North Africa. Before the Kelsey, I was a conservator for the U.S. Navy’s Underwater Archaeology Branch.
ECPN: What do you feel are the greatest strengths and challenges of the conservation profession today?
SD: A huge strength is that conservators have amazing skill sets. We should be taking the lead in cultural institutions, not only directing collections management and preservation, but guiding development and fundraising efforts, and directly influencing strategic vision and mission.
Two major challenges I see for our profession right now are that it is insular and exclusive. Few conservators participate in allied disciplines by attending or presenting at allied conferences, or reading or publishing in related journals. Current grad school applicants in the U.S. need a lot of internship hours to be competitive, but museums can’t usually afford to pay interns for their learning experience. They pay with the staff time and resources they commit to training the intern [but] this system excludes anyone who can’t afford to take unpaid internships. The field is exclusive in more subtle ways and our methods for recruiting and fostering potential conservators could be updated to serve us better.
ECPN: What achievements are you most proud of that you feel qualified you for the Conservation Advocacy Award?
SD: I’m proudest of my day-to-day work with students. The Kelsey Museum has a long tradition of conservators who are active in teaching and service.  All the advocacy I’ve done is rooted in this belief. We never felt like we were “dumbing down” information, but distilling concepts to their essentials. Writing about them for a general audience was a lot harder than we expected.
ECPN: Do you have any words of advice for ECPs or others who want to contribute to conservation and heritage preservation?
SD: If you can match your skills and interests to an existing need, that’s a good way to contribute in a meaningful way. Think about places you can add value. If you’re at a museum, you could start writing for the blog, give a talk about your work, or collaborate with the education department to develop outreach products like tours or podcasts that focus on conservation. If you’re in private practice, you can use your website to talk about conservation in detail and write about work in the public sphere. All of us should share our work, not just through AIC, but through conferences and publications in allied disciplines. You can also look around your local community for ways to contribute and be an advocate for conservation.
If you’re considering graduate school in conservation, spend time researching other careers in the cultural heritage sector. Conservation isn’t the only way you can contribute, and there might be something you like better.
Conservation and heritage organizations like AIC almost always have open service positions, and some of which focus on outreach and advocacy. Know about opportunities like these and volunteer where you can. You might see a need or gap where others haven’t.  If you do, and you believe in it, don’t be afraid to advocate.
***
This year AIC also awarded the Sheldon and Caroline Keck Award for conservation education to Steve Koob (Corning Museum of Glass).
To learn more about AIC’s annual awards for members and allied professionals, visit http://www.conservation-us.org/membership/awards.  These interviews were conducted by email and in person by ECPN officers.  For questions, contact ayesha.fuentes@gmail.com.
– Ayesha Fuentes, ECPN Communications co-officer

(Posted on behalf of Ayesha Fuentes by Fran Ritchie, ECPN Professional Education and Training co-officer)

ECPN Webinar: Beyond the Prerequisites: Preparing for Graduate Education in Art Conservation

Attention Pre-Program Conservators!  Join us for the latest upcoming webinar hosted by the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN) on “Beyond the Prerequisites: Preparing for Graduate Education in Art Conservation.”  This will be a dynamic webinar with representatives from five North American graduate programs in art conservation.  Join Debra Hess Norris from Winterthur/University of Delaware, Ellen Pearlstein from UCLA, Rosaleen Hill from Queens University, Peggy Ellis from NYU, and James Hamm and Meredeth Lavelle from Buffalo State as they discuss a few of the qualities that make a good candidate for graduate training.  Learn how to make your application stronger while enriching your career.  Submit questions for the Q&A session of the program beforehand by commenting on the ECPN Facebook page or in the recent webinar announcement on the AIC blog (conservators-converse.org), or by e-mailing Megan Salazar-Walsh, ECPN Chair, at salazar.walsh@gmail.com.

 

The webinar will be held July 16th at 12pm EST.  You can register using this link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/177805026

 

This webinar is the latest in the ECPN series that seeks to address issues faced by emerging conservators.  “Emerging conservators” are defined as those with 7 or fewer years of experience (which includes schooling and pre-program).  ECPN strives to rotate webinar topics between those that are specifically pertinent to pre-program, graduate, and post-graduate emerging professionals.  

42nd Annual Meeting – Research and Technical Studies, May 29, "An Examination of Light-Induced Color Change in Anoxia and Hypoxia using the Microfading Tester " by Vincent Beltran, Jim Druzik, Andrew Lerwill, and Christel Pesme

Vincent Beltran from the Getty Conservation Institute presented this talk in the Research and Technical Studies session. The study presented examined the effects of anoxia and hypoxia on light-induced color change in a sample set containing a variety of materials. The goal was to examine the use of these environments in storage and exhibits as part of an effort to improve the experience for visitors viewing light-sensitive items.
The talk was organized into four parts: “Introduction,” “Experimental Method,” “Microfader Results,” and “Comparison to Lightbox Study.”
In the introduction, Beltran reviewed traditional practices to mitigate the damaging qualities of light. For example: reduce light levels, limit exposure time, rotate exhibit items, and store items in the dark. He then provided an overview of the photo-oxidation process, and the theories behind the use of anoxic and hypoxic environments for storage.
A 2012 study of 125 colorants exposed in a halogen lightbox for 17.5 MLux hours at 22° C, 40% RH with oxygen levels at <10 ppm indicated that 90% of these items studied showed reduced color change as compared to the same items stored in air. To the authors, the logical extension of this study was to transfer the test to the microfading tester and compare the results.
The design of the lightbox for the microfading tester study involved a xenon light projecting through ¼” starfire glass to items on a sample stand. Light was reflected to a spectrometer located above the glass. A ½ cm gap existed between the samples and the glass. The microfader was located above the case while the colorants were inside the case. The colorants consisted of 3 blue wool, 4 organic dyes, 2 leaves, 1 grass, 5 gouaches, 1 watercolor with prussian blue, 1 Kremer Prussian Blue, and 1 Crystal Violet. The colorants were exposed for 5 MLux hours in air, anoxia (<200 ppm oxygen), and hypoxia (1% and 5% oxygen). Reflectance spectra were obtained and combined for a color change plot.
The results of the microfading tester study showed that for the most part color change in air is higher than that in anoxia. Anoxic environments seemed to be generally equivalent to the 1% oxygen environments. A few colorants exhibited a slightly decreased change in the 1% environment but Beltran indicated that these results were inconclusive. A few exhibited increased change in the 1%. Environments with 5% oxygen tended to exhibit more change than anoxic or 1% but generally not as much change as found in air. The exception to this is Prussian blue, which shows the opposite behavior – an air environment showed the least change, 5% followed, and 1% and anoxic showed the most change. Overall, the results showed that 12 of the 18 colorants exhibited greater change in air while only one (Prussian blue) exhibited the greatest change in anoxia. Generally, hypoxic environments exhibited less change than air.
Beltran then presented a comparison between the 2012 study and the more recent microfader study. The main differences in the studies were as follows:
 
Study Component:         Microfader                                           Lightbox

Light Source:                    Xenon                                                     Halogen
Exposure level:               5 MLux                                                   0.01 MLux
Exposure time:                3.5 hours                                               1750 hours
Exposure type:                Continuous                                           Start/End
Area exposed:                  4 mm spot                                             Broad exposure

In general, the color change with the lightbox test was higher than that seen with the microfader, though some samples showed changes which were roughly equivalent. Most items showed similar behavior between the two techniques but the lightbox displayed increased change. The differences in the studies were typically within one blue wool step, and the study was able to consistently classify relative color change between the two techniques. However, Beltran stated that there is reciprocity failure between the two studies.
Future goals of this project are to repeat the analysis with more samples, examine the effect on reciprocity for the microfading tester at reduced light intensity, and study the color change in various RH and temperature levels.
Questions were as follows:
Q: In cases where the microfading tester and lightbox didn’t agree, is the lightbox the more reliable?
A: In general, lower light exposure tends to be closer to what you’d get with the microfading tester but that doesn’t mean reciprocity is holding.
Q: Has the microfading tester been tried with a halogen bulb?
A: No, they tried to modify a halogen source but it didn’t do much.
Q: Were control samples used?
A: No, they were not..

From the New York Times: Acropolis Maidens Glow Anew.

Caryatid Statues, Conserved, Are Stars at Athens Museum

Read the full story here
By LIZ ALDERMAN. JULY 7, 2014

Using specially developed laser technology, conservators at the Acropolis Museum stripped centuries of grime from the Caryatids statues, among the great divas of ancient Greece. Eirini Vourloumis for The New York Times
Using specially developed laser technology, conservators at the Acropolis Museum stripped centuries of grime from the Caryatids statues, among the great divas of ancient Greece. Eirini Vourloumis for The New York Times

ATHENS — For 2,500 years, the six sisters stood unflinching atop the Acropolis, as the fires of war blazed around them, bullets nicked their robes, and bombs scarred their curvaceous bodies. When one of them was kidnapped in the 19th century, legend had it that the other five could be heard weeping in the night.
But only recently have the famed Caryatid statues, among the great divas of ancient Greece, had a chance to reveal their full glory.
For three and a half years, conservators at the Acropolis Museum have been cleaning the maidens, Ionic columns in female form believed to have been sculpted by Alkamenes, a student of ancient Greece’s greatest artist, Phidias. Their initial function was to prop up a part of the Erechtheion, the sacred temple near the Parthenon that paid homage to the first kings of Athens and the Greek gods Athena and Poseidon.
Today they are star attractions in the museum; the originals outside were replaced with reproductions in 1979 to keep the real maidens safe.
Over the centuries, a coat of black grime came to mask their beauty. Now conservators have restored them to their original ivory glow, using a specially developed laser technology.
To coincide with the museum’s fifth anniversary, the women — minus one — went on full display in June, gleaming from their modern makeover. The missing Caryatid is installed at the British Museum in London, which acquired it nearly a century ago after Lord Elgin, the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, had it sawed off the Erechtheion’s porch, along with shiploads of adornments from the Parthenon to decorate his mansion in Scotland before selling the pieces to pay debts.
Greek and British authorities have long fought over the return of these so-called Elgin marbles, a dispute that heated up again recently when the actors George Clooney, Matt Damon and Bill Murray came out in support of the sculptures’ being returned home during an appearance in London for the movie “The Monuments Men.” That ignited a firestorm in Britain, which maintains that Lord Elgin saved the marbles from destruction, and acquired them fairly.
“Someone needs to restore George Clooney’s marbles,” London’s mayor, Boris Johnson, retorted. The controversy may flare anew as the British Museum plans an exhibit of the human body in Greek sculpture for next spring, using some of the marbles from the Parthenon.
Greeks have not been shy about using the Caryatid restoration to help press their case. While the Caryatids’ restoration is not part of a specific campaign to get the marbles back, the fresh cleaning shows that the museum can support their return, said Dimitris Pantermalis, the president of the Acropolis Museum.
“We insist on a solution” to the Elgin marbles, Mr. Pantermalis said. “A country must be ready when it claims something, and the Acropolis Museum has completed this.”
In the meantime, the missing Caryatid is glaring in its absence from the platform, a subversive display of resistance that is reflected one floor up in the museum, where large swaths of the Acropolis frieze owned by the British Museum are represented as chalky plaster copies of the originals. On a recent weekday, Mr. Pantermalis wove through crowds who stood enthralled around a special dais on which the five remaining Caryatids were displayed. “With the pollution erased, we can read more about the history of the last 2,500 years,” he said.
Continue reading the main storyContinue reading the main storyContinue reading the main story
Knots of people were glued to a video screen showing footage of the cleaning project, which was set up on the floor of the museum. Conservators wearing dark goggles wielded a dual-wavelength laser developed by the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas in Crete, a system that was also employed to restore the Parthenon’s west frieze and the high-relief metopes that adorned the east entrance. Beams of infrared and ultraviolet radiation pulsed across the hem of one Caryatid’s robes, burning soot millimeter by millimeter to reveal the apricot-tinted patina of the original marble.
Starting in 2011, a team of six Greek conservators focused on one Caryatid at a time, setting up fabric rooms around each statue and mapping its surface before attacking an ebony mantle of pollution that had thickened when Athens became a modern metropolis filled with car exhaust, factory fumes and acid rain. Along the way, the conservators found traces of an enormous fire set in the first century B.C. by the Roman general Sulla, and chunks of marble from clumsy repair jobs attempted centuries ago.
It took six to eight months to transform each statue from night into day, with the crews rotating shifts to avoid fatigue. The in-house restoration costs were minimal and funded with income from ticket and museum shop sales, said Costas Vassiliadis, a conservator who heads the restoration team.
“It looked almost like tattoo removal,” said Shawn Hocker, a tourist who had traveled to the Acropolis with his wife and friends from Wilmington, N.C. “You can imagine what they looked like in the ancient world.”
The museum plans to clean a number of other architectural sculptures from the Acropolis, using the laser technology, Mr. Vassiliadis said, although he declined to give details because the new projects had not yet been announced.
In their original setting, the Caryatids stood on the porch of the Erechtheion, with a sweeping southern view toward the Aegean Sea. They rested in contrapposto poses, three of them standing firmly on their right legs, demurely bending their left knees beneath diaphanous robes. The others stood in opposite pose. Together they held up a part of the temple’s massive roof.
The Caryatids’ origins were less poetic: According to one legend, Mr. Pantermalis said, the statuesque maidens were not intended to be glorified, but condemned to stand in penance at the temple for eternity to atone for an ancient treachery committed by their hometown, Caryae, a Greek city near Sparta that took the side of the Persians against the Greeks during the Peloponnesian War. Other historians say young women from the city who danced for the goddess Artemis were inspirations. The statues remained nameless, and even today they go simply by the letters A, B, C, D, E and F, Mr. Vassiliadis said.
Under the Ottoman Empire, the Erechtheion was converted into a harem, an indignity that the Caryatids survived. Soon after, in 1687, they were nicked by bullets and debris when the Parthenon was shelled during a battle between the Turks and the Venetians.
But officials say the modern equivalent of that destruction is the gaping hole that was left when Lord Elgin made off with the statue.
Mr. Pantermalis glanced out the window toward the Parthenon, leaning into the sky from the soaring rock of the Acropolis. “It’s been 200 years,” he said, returning his gaze to the Caryatids. “We think in the framework of the new museum, it’s possible to reunite our treasures.”

42nd Annual Meeting – Research & Technical Studies, May 31, “Development and Testing of a Reference Standard for Documenting Ultraviolet Induced Visible Fluorescence” by Jennifer McGlinchey Sexton, Jiuan Jiuan Chen, and Paul Messier

Jennifer McGlinchey Sexton, Conservator of Photographs at Paul Messier, LLC, presented on the testing of reference cards and the development of new imaging protocols that are so desperately needed in our field for increased standardization and comparability of photographs taken of UV-induced visible fluorescence phenomena. The project started by private photograph conservator Paul Messier in 2006, under the servicemark name UV Innovations (SM), was taken over by Jiuan-Jiuan Chen, Buffalo State’s Assistant Professor of Conservation Imaging, Technical Examination, and Documentation at Buffalo State College. Sexton has directed development of the  Target-UV™ and UV-Grey™ products since 2012.
Many a visual examination is followed by technical imaging, including both Ultraviolet Fluorescence (UV-FL) and Visible-Induced Luminescence (VIL), and Sexton’s talk first reiterated why observing cultural material by using carefully selected wavelengths of light is important:  It is non-invasive, relatively inexpensive, accessible, and (largely) commercially available. As a surface technique, UV-induced fluorescence probes outside layers, coatings, optical brighteners, mold, tidelines, and organic-glaze pigments above bulk pictorial films. Although it is a technique we rely on for the large majority of condition assessments and technical studies, our documentation remains unstandardized, and essentially, unscientific. With so much to gain by standardizing our capture and color-balancing process, as well as by taking careful notes on the equipment used, the prospect of the Target-UV™ and UV-Grey™ UV-Vis fluorescence standards is certainly an exciting one.
UV-FL images are unique in that they contain diagnostic color information, hence the need for standardization, which would enable cross-comparison between colleagues and between before- and after-treatment documentation. The beta testing of the UV target which was been carried out for 2 years has attempted to account for the most significant variables in the production of UV-FL images. The talk evidenced the enormous amount of collaboration and communication needed to streamline the significant aspects of equipment choice, the optimization of acquisition, and the documentation of post-processing methods. The goal was to increase reproducibility and comparability. Sexton’s presentation showed that the beta testing of the product achieved demonstrable results in terms of uniformity of output.
Development of the UV target was begun in collaboration with (Golden) to produce stable fluorogenic pigments of known color values and known neutral-gray values (which were evidently produced by mixing the red, green, and blue fluorogenic pigments). Neutral gray was defined as a gray which was interpreted as neutral by many viewers and which performed similarly under many different conditions. Including such color swatches within a photograph–for the purposes of color-balancing and correcting any variation in the Red-Green-Blue channels for each pixel–is a very familiar principle in visible photography.
A second consideration made for the round-robin testing was that of intensity, which is a variable somewhat unique to UV-FL photography. The nature of the emissive source must be noted for purposes of calibration and exposure, especially as all light sources currently used in fluorescent photography lack stability over long periods. The output of a lamp with fluctuate over time, and this makes relative intensities of materials illuminated with some lamp types very difficult to determine. Even when this particular factor is taken into account, other variables, such as the distance of the lamp to the subject and the wattage of the lamp will effect intensity. It is also possible that multiple emitting sources could be present. These factors should be included in the metadata for the exposure.
To control for this intensity factor, beta testers were to divide their sources, distance-to-subject, and wattage parameters into three different intensity levels which were best matched to certain analyses: “Ultra” was beta-tested for analysis of optical brighteners and other products produced specifically to fluoresce. “High” was best for the analysis of natural and thicker fluorescence, perhaps of a paint film such as zinc white, of some feathers (see Ellen Pearlstein’s talk from this year Ultraviolet Induced Visible Fluorescence and Chemical Analysis as Tools for Examining Featherwork”), and uranium glass colorants; and “Low” was used to image thin applications of resins, varnish, and sizing films.
A third variable was that of camera sensitivity, which varies with manufacturer (proprietary internal filtration and software), camera type (either DSLR or digital back cameras), as well as with sensor type (CCD or CMOS, modified or unmodified). Different filters were tested (Kodak Wratten 2e pale yellow filter, PECA 918, and an internal blue-green IR (BG-38) filter). These types of internal filtration are typical on digital cameras to block out IR and some red light to bring the camera output closer to the typical photopic curve of the eye and more closely mimic human vision. The 2e filters UV radiation and a small amount of the blue light commonly emitted by UV lamps, while the Peca 918 is used for IR blocking.
The fourth variable tested was the source type. Those tested included low-pressure mercury, high-pressure mercury, arc and metal halide arc lamps. Although LEDs were used at some institutions, many of these have a peak emission at 398 nm, which is barely in the ultraviolet range. Greg Smith at the IMA analyzed Inova X5 UV LED, and found that it does contain UV but is more expensive. Other products show a large difference in emission peaks which often cannot be accommodated by a simple white-balancing operation. Therefore, testing limited the peak emission to the most common types, emitting between 360 and 370 nm.
The last variables that were analyzed were those of post-processing procedures and software and of user perception and needs. An problematic paradigm identified over the testing period was that of the image being readable or resolvable vis-à-vis a particular argument versus the image being strictly accurate and well-calibrated. A photograph may accurately render the intensity of the fluorescence but it may be so completely underexposed so as to be unreadable.
Testing showed that, despite these difficulties of calibration and subjective experience, that the workflow incorporating the UV Innovations standard, showed a marked increase in standardization. Round-robin testing was completed by eight institutions in the US and Europe in May 2013. Fluorescent object sets were shipped along with the UV standard and filters. Each test site collected two image sets, one named “a,” using the lab’s current UV documentation protocol with color balance and exposure set “by eye,” and the other named “b” using the UV innovations protocol. The increased control provided by the use of the standard was evidenced by the average delta E of L*a*b* data points as well as the average standard deviation of RBG data points for both a and b sets as each institution. By way of example, the ‘Low—a” set showed an improvement from a delta E of 18.8 to the ‘Low—b” with a delta E of 4.9. The average standard deviation in-between these two sets showed an improvement from 32.8 to 6.2!
The presentation went into depth about how this data was collected, how variables were controlled for, and how the data was analyzed, and it showed convincingly that despite the high variability of current work flows,  the UV Innovations UV-Grey card and Target-UV standards in conjunction with standardization of UV source and filtration can markedly improve the image variability of UV-FL photography.
One variable in “extra-spectral” imaging that was not addressed in this talk were the spatial inhomogeneities of the light source, or the gradient that results from the use of an inconsistent light source. This could be especially problematic if using UV-FL photography for condition imaging, and “flat-fielding” should be considered as a possible augmentation to the ideal image-acquisition protocol.
There is still further research to be done before this product hits the market. A fourth intensity level will be added to increase the flexibility of the product. The current prototype features two intensity levels on the front and two on the back. Notably, artificial aging must be done to determine when the product should be replaced. As this current standard only operates over UV-A and UV-B, UV Innovations looks forward to developing a UV-C standard, as well as a larger format target.
The prototype of the Target-UV and UV-Grey cards were handmade, but the company hopes to overcome the challenges of large-scale production and distribution by Fall 2014.

42nd Annual Meeting – Paintings (Joint with Wooden Artifacts), May 31, “Painted Totem Poles at the American Museum of Natural History: Treatment Challenges and Solutions” by Samantha Alderson, Judith Levinson, Gabrielle Tieu, and Karl Knauer

Those who have beheld the Hall of Northwest Coast Indians at the American Museum of Natural History and its extraordinary “totem poles” will instantly recognize the potential scope of any study or treatment of such massive artifacts.

The Hall of Northwest Coast Indians, which opened in 1900, highlights the traditional cultures of the native peoples of North America’s northwest shores from Washington State to southern Alaska, including the  Kwakwaka’wakw, Haida, Tlingit, and others. (Source: AMNH.org)
The Hall of Northwest Coast Indians, which opened in 1900, highlights the traditional cultures of the native peoples of North America’s northwest shores from Washington State to southern Alaska, including the Kwakwaka’wakw, Haida, Tlingit, and others. (Source: AMNH.org)

 
These objects are housed in the earliest wing of the museum, curated at its inception by Franz Boas, “the father of American Anthropology”, who organized the early acquisitions of the museum according to a revolutionary argument: that of “cultural relativism” in opposition to a chauvinistic, social-Darwinist organization that put “primitive” peoples at the bottom of an evolutionary tree, the pinnacle of which was white America. Today, this hall holds a landmarked status and remains relatively unchanged, as the poles are very hard to move.

Ten years ago, a renovation of the hall was proposed. Although the recession thwarted plans, the objects were still in need of stabilization and aesthetic improvements. Because this project—from its inception, through the research, testing, and execution stage, was so expansive—Samantha Alderson reminded her audience that her talk could only represent an overview of a four-year process. Those interested in a specific aspect of the project can look forward to in-depth, forthcoming publications.
One of the more important aspects of the research phase, and a professional obligation that is indispensable to the curation and conservation of native materials, was the consideration of ethical issues and provenance information. Most of these pieces entered the collection between the 1880s and the 1920s, and the majority has been on continual, open display since their arrival. Their presence in AMNH’s collection is widely acknowledged to be ethically complicated in itself, representing an era of unscrupulous dealing in Northwest Coast artifacts. (To read more about “Indians and about their procurable culture,” consult Douglas Cole’s, “Captured Heritage: The Scramble for Northwest Coast Artifacts,” about the coincidence of a taste for these native artifacts and the establishment of many of the country’s foremost natural history collections. (p.xi)]
The carvings, including the carved columns most commonly described as ”totem poles,” would have had numerous functions within their originating cultures: house frontal poles holding entry portals to buildings, interior house posts, welcome figures, memorial poles, and mortuary posts [For a technical study on these types of carvings, please consult “Melissa H. Carr. “A Conservation Perspective on Wooden Carvings of the Pacific Northwest Coast.” Wooden Artifacts Group Postprints. 1993.].
To further hone their understanding of provenance, the 2009 CCI “Caring for Totem Poles” workshop in Alert, Canada, allowed the authors to travel through British Columbia with curatorial consultants, native carvers, and native caretakers, in order to study the techniques of manufacture. It was also important to keep abreast of the expectations of the native communities that might be borne out over the course of any treatment intervention or re-installation campaign.
The original aim of this project was to provide structural stability to those carvings which exhibited highly deteriorated surfaces caused by the weathering and biodeterioration in their original environment. These instabilities were often exacerbated by inappropriate environmental conditions and restoration interventions in the museum. The most significant issue requiring treatment was the presence of wood rot, insects, and biological growth, present in the original environment and continuing to run their course.
Although climate control was installed in 1995, soot from the age of coal heaters and lamps still blanketed the inaccessible areas of the objects. Dust from visitor traffic also dulled them, as the hall is adjacent to the entrance to the IMAX theatre. Routine and well-intentioned cleaning was ineffective against a century of accumulated grime and dust and was causing surface loss.
The location of the Hall of Northwest Coast Indians in relation to the IMAX theatre
The location of the Hall of Northwest Coast Indians in relation to the IMAX theatre

 
As there is no barrier between the objects and the visitor, touching has caused burnishing and scratching. The unfinished wood readily absorbs skin oils; and graffiti and adhered chewing gum had also become a most-unfortunate problem.
Early interventions after acquisition had caused condition problems of their own, as old fills had a hardness or density that is inappropriate for soft, weathered wood. These fill materials were only becoming more ugly, unstable, crumbly, and cracked with age.
All of these factors, taken together, provided a huge impetus for treatment.
To begin the treatment-planning stage, the conservators at AMNH performed examinations under visible and UV radiation and mapped the observed conditions and materials using a streamlined iPad-based documentation protocol. In some cases the restoration materials observed provided evidence of institutional and condition history. Although there were almost no previous treatment records of these objects, comparison with archival photographs of many of the objects showed the rate of deterioration since acquisition and provided clues as to dates of interventions and installation history.
In summary of the object-treatment stage, vacuums and sponges were first used in an attempt to reduce some of the dinginess of the surface and to increase the legibility of the painted designs. The many resinous and waxy coatings had trapped so much dust, however, that this treatment did not always have a satisfactory result.
The question of solvent toxicity held sway in all aspects of treatment, as operations were completed in makeshift spaces outside of the lab, due to the size of the objects; these areas had no fume-extraction infrastructure. Luckily, plaster fills could be softened with a warm-water-and-ethanol mixture and carved out.
Temporary conservation lab set-up in the gallery.
Temporary conservation lab set-up in the gallery (See treatment photo gallery here).

 
Butvar B-98 and Paraloid B-72 were selected as potential consolidants and adhesives. A 5-10% Butvar B-98 solution in ethanol (i.e. without the toluene component for safety concerns) was used for surface stabilization, and Paraloid B-72 in acetone was used for adhesion of splinters and detached fragments.
Karl Knauer filling splinter edges.
Karl Knauer filling splinter edges.

 
Fills were designed using different materials depending on the location on the object. These were intended to reduce damage during installation, display, and regular maintenance. If the fill was not visible, shapes were cut from Volara, beveled, and adhered in place with Paraloid B-72 along the edges. These were often necessary on the tops of the poles to cover the deep voids of deteriorated wood. Some losses were back-filled with tinted glass micro-balloon mixtures of different grades and different resin-to-balloon ratios where appropriate. As some paints were solvent-sensitive, certain fills required the use of Paraloid B-67. The final fill type was a removable epoxy-bulked fill to compensate for deep losses in visible areas. These areas were first filled with polyethylene foam to prevent the fill from locking in. The edges of the fill area to be cast were protected by tamping down teflon (plumber’s) tape which conforms nicely to the wooden surface. West System 105 Epoxy Resin—with “fast” 205, “slow” 206, or “extra-slow” 209 hardeners—was used in different proportions to 3M glass microspheres and pigments to give fill material with various hardness, curing-times, textures, and colors (See Knauer’s upcoming publication in ICOM-CC Warsaw 2013 for more details). This method is notable for its invisibility, its reversibility, and its rejection of phenolic micro-balloons, which are an unstable and unsuitable and were historically used for such a wood fill merely for their brown color. Once cured, the bulked-epoxy (and the plumber’s tape) were removed and the fills were then tacked into place with B-72 to produce an aesthetically pleasing and protective cap.
Many losses which were previously filled were left unfilled, as would have been the case it they had been collected and treated today. Crack fills were incised so as to retain the appearance of a (smaller) crack.
Once the surface and structure was stabilized with the consolidation and filling operations, the team turned their attention to the various paint films to be cleaned. Many of these were proteinaceous but some were more similar to house paints. This data was consistent with the ethnographic findings and with current native practice. No preparatory layers were used, and the pigment layers were often very lean.
PLM, XRF, and SEM-EDS, as well as UV-FL imaging, thin sections, and analysis with FTIR was undertaken. Some binder analysis was also possible, but this was complicated by historical treatments. Interpretation of epi-fluorescence microscopy results was also thwarted by the presence of multiple coatings, the inter-penetration, -dissolution, and bleed-through of layers. As many as four different types of coatings were identified, and understanding and addressing the condition issues caused by these coatings became a primary concern. Cellulose Nitrate was often applied to carvings in the early 20th century. Whether this was to refurbish or protect, it has developed into a dark-brown layer which is alternately hazy and glossy and which obscured the original surface appearance. Lower regions evidenced PVA or PVAc on top of the Cellulose Nitrate. Shellac and dammar are present in isolated locations, as is an orange resin which eluded identification (even when analyzed with GCMS).
Although identification of these coatings was attempted, removal was not originally planned due to the difficulties designing a solvent system for its reduction, considering the variation in sensitivities, the interpenetration of the layers, and the unknown condition of the original paint films beneath. This plan changed when the poles were deinstalled for construction.
The treatment design was largely aided by the isolation of four house posts in the collection made by Kwakwaka’wakw artist Arthur Shaughnessy.
Arthur Shaughnessy carving one of these poles (Photograph by George Hunt, copyright AMNH).
Arthur Shaughnessy carving one of these poles (Photograph by George Hunt, copyright AMNH).

 
Commissioned by AMNH in 1923, these had never been installed outdoors but which had been coated in the same manner and exhibited in the same space. This allowed for the development of controlled methods for coating reduction.
A Teas table (or Teas chart) was used to identify potential solvents or solvent mixtures, which were tested over every color and monitored for any leaching or swelling. These initial tests were deemed unsuccessful.
In areas without paint, film reformation with acetone reduced haziness or glossiness. Where the coating was completely removed, the wood was often left with an over-cleaned appearance which necessitated some coating redistribution with MBK, MEK, and propylene glycol. Wherever possible, gels were used to reduce the exposure to toxic solvents. In painted areas, the large variation in solvent sensitivity, the inconsistency of media binders, the varying porosity of the wood, and the changing direction of the wood grain required that the conservators work inch-by-inch. DMSO, a component of “safe” stripper, and NMP were controllable over certain colors but caused considerable swelling.
February 2012, the museum saw the reinstallation of the Shaughnessy poles, marking the effective conclusion of the testing period and the successful management of a challenging triage situation by conservation staff.

It was Kwakwaka‘wakw artists like Arthur Shaughnessy who kept carving traditions active when the Canadian government prohibited the potlatch ceremony in 1885. The ban was lifted in 1951, after AMNH’s acquisition of the house posts.
The completion of treatment represents an important opportunity to educate the public: Although these monumental carvings are exhibited in a historic wing of the museum, we need to dust them off and remember that these carvings represent very, active traditional practices and communities.
There is still the need to develop more systematic solvent strategies, as well as to consult with a paintings conservator. But it is clear that these objects stand to look much improved after the grime and coatings are removed or reduced and the objects are thoughtfully reintegrated with a well-designed fill system. Thanks to the remarkable talents of the AMNH team, these stately creations are finally commanding the respect they deserve.
 
___
Resources:
Hall of Northwest Coast Indians :: AMNH
From the Bench: These Face Lifts Require Heavy Lifting :: IMLS
Arthur Shaughnessy house post carvings reinstalled following conservation treatment (February 2012) :: AMNH
Changing Approaches to the Conservation of Northwest Coast Totem Poles :: Reed College
Andrew Todd (1998). “Painted Memory, Painted Totems,” In Dorge, Valerie and F. Carey Howlett (eds.), Painted Wood: History and Conservation (pp. 400-411). Proceedings of a symposium organized by the Wooden Artifacts Group of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works and the Foundation of the AIC, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 1994. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Trust.
A Brief History of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition :: AMNH

 

42nd Annual Meeting –Paintings Session, May 29, 2014, “Conserving Spanish Colonial Paintings – Finding the Divine in Conservation," by Cynthia Lawrence

In this Thursday afternoon talk, Cynthia Lawrence presented an in-depth look into the materials and condition problems frequently present in Spanish colonial paintings.
Dating from Columbus through the nineteenth century, Spanish colonial paintings have generally entered collections in remarkably poor condition. Because these paintings have not been widely studied or exhibited, conservators have infrequently encountered them for treatment.
Paintings from this period often did not receive an original application of varnish, and as a result, dirt and debris are found directly in contact with the paint layer.  Interventions by early restorers included varnishing and consolidating with wax, resins, and synthetic materials overtop of dirt, resulting in painted surfaces with an obscured, uneven appearance.
The structures of the paintings were often complex. Wood, fabric, paper, and metal served as supports for the paintings. Compositions sometimes included shell inlays and fugitive cochineal reds painted over thin grounds. Some paintings were executed directly on a substrate without the use of a ground at all, and canvases were often affixed directly to the stretcher.
Cynthia showed slides and presented summaries for the treatment of several Spanish colonial paintings featuring divine narratives. She began by illustrating a treatment of a painting of St. Thomas on laid paper over wood that exhibited convex warping, vertical wood movement, planar deformations, paint loss, heavy grime, and a dark varnish. Cynthia’s treatment included consolidating with isinglass and attaching the paper to the panel with BEVA. She cleaned the surface with aqueous solutions and used a xylene mixture to remove the varnish. B-72 was applied to the break edges, which were clamped and weighted. The painting was varnished with MS2A prior to fills and inpainting, and Regalrez 1094 with a bit of wax was applied as a final varnish. After conservation, curators were able to positively attribute the painting to Gregorio Vásquez, a well-known Colombian painter of the Latin American Baroque period.
Cynthia also discussed several treatments in which she found a variety of materials layered over the divine subjects.
A collagen-based glue was found on the surface of one painting, while synthetic varnish, acrylic, PVA, wax, and natural resin varnishes were found overtop centuries of accumulated soot and grime on others. Due to the varied solubilities of these materials, Cynthia employed mechanical action, aqueous solutions, and solvent-based mixtures to remove dirt and incongruous materials.
For all of the paintings she treated, Cynthia discussed the importance of judicious inpainting. She inpainted the most noticeable areas of damage in order to maintain unity in the composition, but the paintings were not aesthetically compensated to appear new. Since many were used for devotional purposes, Cynthia stressed the appropriateness of preserving them in a way that was sympathetic to their original display.
Cynthia’s talk brings attention to the need for continued innovation in conservation treatment, and more research and scholarship on Spanish colonial paintings.  Spanish colonial paintings are often in such poor condition as to be deemed “lost causes” or “problem children” by conservators, but she cautions that conservators will likely begin to see paintings like these more, as museums and collectors seek out lesser known works.  As we work to understand these paintings better through treatment, analysis, and historical research, we will undoubtedly come to balance creative problem solving with the painting’s long life and history — it is here that we find the divine.
You can see pictures of some of the paintings Cynthia Lawrence treated in this article, and visit the New Mexico History Museum’s page  featuring an exhibition of these works, on view until March 2015.

Collections Manager / Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas

Collections Manager / Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas

General Description:
The Collections Manager works closely with the AAOA Conservator and the Administrator to oversee and handle all activities in the galleries and storerooms, in addition to planning, managing and scheduling the work of the department technician.
Primary Responsibilities and Duties:

  • Organize and manage movement of objects within and in between galleries, storerooms and other museum departments
  • Organize and undertake a regular and ongoing schedule for gallery maintenance and cleaning of art objects on open display and in closed cases.
  • Monitor the climate of the galleries/storerooms and work with conservators/scientists/engineers to maintain optimum conditions
  • Coordinate with conservators for the care for objects in the storerooms and conduct regular condition checks of all work on display in the galleries
  • Organize, and supervise the maintenance of mounts, bases, and other installation equipment, in addition to occasionally manufacturing simple mounts
  • Coordinate with curators, conservators and special events personnel in the safeguarding of art    during departmental or museum special events in the AAOA galleries
  • Coordinate with curators and conservators to provide access to the collection for scholarly study purposes
  • Supervise the technician in the ongoing task of gallery cleanliness and maintenance, and during exhibition and gallery installations
  • Oversee a regular inventory check of AAOA’s holdings with Registrar and Director’s Office.
  • Coordinate with the Departmental Administrator in the supervision of the collections management assistant’s work maintaining and updating departmental  records in the TMS database, conducting ongoing inventory and maintaining gallery labels.
  • Prepare MMA loan documents and coordinate with curators, registrars, conservators and administration to identify special requirements for travel and  handling
  • Maintain the storage and inventory of installation-, collection’s emergency-, and cleaning materials for the department
  • Coordinates with the departmental administrator the maintenance of departmental files for all permanent and temporary exhibitions, collection care, education, photography, and loans
  • Other related duties

Requirements and Qualifications:
Experience and Skills:

  • Excellent organizational, management, and communication skills
  • Ability to prioritize  and multitask
  • Formal or on-the-job training and experience in  handling, storing and moving 3-dimensional works of art
  • Ability to create supports and containers for 3-dimensional works of art for loan, storage and display
  • Knowledge of agents of deterioration and the museum environment
  • Excellent computer skills, including TMS

Knowledge and Education:

  • B.A. degree  required; M.A. degree preferred (specialization in museum studies/collection care)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art provides equal opportunity to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, age, mental or physical disability, pregnancy, alienage or citizenship status, marital status or domestic partner status, genetic information, genetic predisposition or carrier status, gender identity, HIV status, military status and any other category protected by law in all employment decisions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, compensation, training and apprenticeship, promotion, upgrading, demotion, downgrading, transfer, lay-off and termination, and all other terms and conditions of employment.

Library Conservator, Peter H. Raven Library

Summary:

The Conservator of rare and general collections at the Peter H. Raven Library will be responsible for the care and conservation of collections material, preventive conservation, public engagement and outreach, coordination of volunteers and interns, and connecting to the conservation and cultural heritage fields.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

The Conservator will be responsible for performing item-level conservation treatment on rare and general collections materials. The Conservator must have knowledge of materials science and deterioration mechanisms and be able to recognize various types of damage and their causes. Treatments will include such techniques as mending, washing, deacidifying, board reattachment, attachment removal, encapsulation, rebinding, and others. Many treatment situations will require the modification of “standard” techniques, or the development of new solutions. Therefore, the Conservator must possess strong problem solving skills, as well as a firm knowledge of materials and potential treatment options. The goal of all treatment work will be to return the object to a stable and usable condition while minimizing interference with and damage to original information.

Conservation treatments must be performed according to current best practice standards as understood by the Conservator and the field of library and archives conservation. All treatment work must be done in accordance with the Code of Ethics of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC). All treatments must be thoroughly documented through digital photography and detailed reports, as in accordance with the Guidelines for Practice as stated by the AIC.

Preventive Conservation:

The Conservator will assist with the design, establishment, and maintenance of various collections care and preventive conservation activities in cooperation with relevant staff and departments. These activities will include, but will not be limited to:

Integrated Pest Management: The careful monitoring of pest levels and swift intervention should an issue arise is essential to the prevention of damage caused by insects, mice, and other pests. The Conservator will be responsible for the implementation and monitoring of glue traps and general pest management activities throughout collections storage areas. The Conservator will also be responsible for the inspection of new acquisitions for signs of pest activity. If signs of pest problems are identified, the Conservator will perform appropriate intervention.

Disaster Plan: Disasters such as floods, fires, weather events, etc. should be anticipated, and a comprehensive and effective plan of action will help to prevent unnecessary damage to collections material should such events arise. The Conservator will work with the Director and other staff members to develop a disaster plan for the Library. The Conservator will also be responsible for the establishment, coordination, and training of a disaster response team, which will provide a previously determined list of people who will respond in the case of an emergency. The disaster plan will focus on the protection of collections material in the event of a disaster, but will stress that the primary concern in all such events is the safety of the staff, patrons, and other people involved, and will include parameters to ensure that safety.

Environmental Conditions: The Conservator will be responsible for implementing and maintaining a program to monitor temperature and relative humidity levels in collections storage areas.

Exhibition and Loan: The Conservator will be responsible for preparing materials for exhibition or loan. If necessary, the Conservator will be responsible for supervision during the installation and deinstallation of exhibits.

Grant Writing

The Conservator will be responsible for working with the Library Curator and other staff to identify future projects and to write proposals for grants that will provide funds necessary to complete those projects. The Conservator will also be responsible for monitoring grant opportunities and applying for any that are appropriate for the Library’s work.

Public Engagement and Outreach:

As one of the few institutions in the St. Louis metro area with a conservation facility, the Peter H. Raven Library at the Missouri Botanical Garden will be instrumental in the efforts to inform the public of the nature and importance of the conservation of cultural heritage. The Conservator may be required to engage in public outreach through lab tours, public demonstrations, media presentations (television, radio, newspapers, etc.), or the creation of didactic or exhibition material that demonstrates conservation techniques and philosophies.

Coordination of Volunteers and Interns:

Volunteers: The Peter H. Raven Library has relied on a group of dedicated volunteers who perform basic preservation activities for many years. The Conservator will work to coordinate, train, and supervise volunteers in the performance of basic preservation techniques such as the creation of basic housings, simple repairs, and other tasks.

Interns: The Library Conservator will assist in the education of emerging conservation professionals through the development of an internship program. Interns will work with the Conservator to perform various conservation techniques according to their skill and experience level. The development of an internship program at the Peter H. Raven Library will benefit the Library by providing connections to the rest of the conservation community and bringing in talented emerging professionals whose work will benefit the collection.

Connecting to the Field:

The Library Conservator must stay current with developing techniques and philosophies in the field to ensure that they will be able to perform treatments in accordance with current best practice. The Conservator will be expected to be an active member in the conservation community through participation in professional organizations and meetings in order to maintain a professional network.

Qualifications/Experience:

  • Minimum of three (3) to five (5) years’ directly related experience working in a book conservation laboratory or private practice under the direction of a professional conservator.
  • Demonstrated knowledge of the fundamentals, techniques, and history of book-binding, paper treatment, and conservation. A portfolio of successful relevant work and documentation examples is required.
  • Knowledge of a wide range of conservation treatments and experience working with a variety of binding materials including fragile and rare and/or high value books and other special collections materials.
  • Demonstrated experience working  in exhibition preparation of book materials.
  • Excellent manual dexterity and sustained concentration with delicate and occasionally repetitive tasks.
  • Demonstrated ability to initiate and adapt to change, to analyze and solve problems, to be flexible and work well collaboratively and collegially in a small, but dynamic organizational setting, as well as independently.
  • Strong organizational skills, including the ability to establish priorities and achieve goals.
  • Experience working collaboratively in a research library and/or archives.
  • Demonstrated ability to create various reports and write business correspondence and procedure manuals.
  • Exceptional ability to communicate effectively at all levels; must enjoy and feel comfortable interacting and working in close proximity to general public, in a safe and friendly manner, answering questions.
  • Scheduling flexibility that allows working some evenings and weekends may be required.
  • Occasional travel required (local and domestic).
  • The requirements and duties listed are representative and not exhaustive of the knowledge, skill, and/or abilities required.

Education: 

  • Bachelor’s degree including significant coursework in related fields such as history, art history, library science, museum studies, chemistry, materials science, and/or studio art is required.

Physical Demands: 

  • Physical ability to undertake collection care duties such as  moving books and materials weighing up to 40 lbs., operating lab machinery and working in sometimes dusty and moldy environments.
  • Ability to stand and move about entire facility for extended periods of time; frequent standing, reaching and bending – 50% or more of the workday, at times, may be spent standing on feet.
  • Ability to utilize computer keyboard (typing).
  • Must be able to work both indoors and out.
  • May be required to perform tasks at varying heights (i.e., climb step stools, ladders, etc.).
  • Principally operates standard office equipment to include computers, copiers, files, fax machines.

Work Environment: 

  • Indoor office setting, shared by multiple staff; noise level is usually moderate.
  • Some travel to off-site meetings is required.
  • At times, required to work in dusty and moldy environments.