An Introduction to Art Conservation - What is it and what do I do all day?

I get asked this question at every cocktail party- and it is surprisingly hard to answer. Put your Art Conservation questions in the comments!

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History of Art Conservation-

Conservation Specialties

Expanding Definitions-

Conservation Online-

Asian Art Conservation Labs-

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[feliciachen]

wow! what a well put together video! As someone thinking of switching careers to become an art conservator, this has been so helpful :)

[jobeaumont]

In the UK there's also Buildings Conservation, as well.

[miglek]

A very interesting video! As a textile restauration student from post soviet Europe I noticed a few differences in the way conservation/restauration culture works here compared to where you live:
1. In my country no one can class themselves as a generalist legally (altho some conservators do have multiple restauration licenses, each of which they have to renew separately)
2. We don't really have the general 4 categories, every subsection (the list of which gets expanded every few years it seems) gets a separate license and our uni has painting, wall painting, polychromy, textile, sculpture, furniture and recently metal restauration as separate specialties to study (I think paper restorers/conservators are still bench trained after receiving a painting restauration or chemistry degree, same with many other specialties)
3. Many of the people working in restauration institutions are bench trained, including a lot of our professors (altho it's less common in the restorers getting hired now, might be because my country didn't have restauration university programs before the 90s since in USSR local restauration schools were not allowed to exist in order to enforce the supposed cultural and scientific superiority of russia)
4. Since we don't have an object restauration type category almost everyone ends up dealing with composite objects pretty regularly, especially textile conservators (in which case fellow restorers from different fields come in to give advice/instructions)

[jackiejames]

Hi Margaret! Great video. Thank you. Question: How did you get involved in/ interested in art conservation?

[jessicav]

I'd be interested to hear more of your opinions on restoration vs preservation. To me as someone who knows nothing about this stuff, it always seems completely nuts when I see something re-done, repaired, etc. Especially from the standpoint that technology is always advancing and messing too much with something may be destroying knowledge we would have been able to get from it in a few more years. But I guess maybe it is a bigger problem when things are in that middle time, when they are not old and rare enough to be in a museum but they are all being destroyed so fast that few of them will ever get there.

[TeaCupCracked]

I support the idea of a field of study to be absolutely open to all, accessible to all but requiring that there are standards to how it's practiced / carried out. I'm physically disabled and I've found through historical sewing that there are somethings I am very, very competent at and there are other things I am just not adequate at doing. There's no reason to take my own self-assessment and then to apply or project negative feelings onto it; I just shouldn't be re-knitting an antique garment for museum presentation. Make several petticoats to help dress a mannequin for display? Most certainly! That is within my zone of ability to perform adequately, or even exceptionally! I like that you showed that famous before and after of the Christ painting; it's a pretty clear example of the concerns even I would have about handing over an object to be repaired/restored. Whoever did that never entered into the process with ill-intent, but their skill level did not match the challenge rating of that particular piece.

[katharinedonnelly]

Great video! My question would be: would you consider art conservators to be Public Historians? How would you define “Public History”? Would you consider yourself to be a public historian? Why or why not? (Context: I’m entering my 2nd Masters in Museum Admin and there seems to be a lot of emphasis on “what is public history? Who is a public historian?” I’m just curious as to what someone in the realm of “outside of academia” [the technical definition of public history] has to say). Any input would be great! I personally believe that it’s “all relative”- if we want to say we’re public historians then OK… if not, then OK… we have bigger issues than defining the field