Managing Change: Developing New Teaching and Learning Modalities in Conservation Education

FAIN: PE-277136-21

New York University (New York, NY 10012-1019)
Margaret Holben Ellis (Project Director: June 2020 to October 2021)
Michele D'Arcy Marincola (Project Director: October 2021 to present)

Online and in-person training for up to 24 students studying archaeological and preventive conservation, including student stipends and summer work placement support.

The Conservation Center of the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, respectfully requests $350,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities to support a three-year project to enhance our capacity to teach graduate-level, art and artifact conservation remotely and in-person. The project will allow for the development of new teaching and learning modalities through three components: NEH Guest Lecturers to enhance the curriculum through remote and in-person instruction; NEH Student Fellowships that build student capacity to assess, communicate, and create learning content; and NEH Summer Work Placements that solidify theoretical concepts through placements in US cultural institutions and archaeological sites abroad.

Associated Products

Examples of videography for art conservation (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Examples of videography for art conservation
Writer: Devon Lee
Writer: Claire Misko
Writer: Abigail Slawik
Writer: Celia Cooper
Writer: Maria Davalos Stanton
Writer: Caroline Carlsmith
Abstract: Coursework in Image-Based Documentation resulted in the following fundamental examples of videography for art conservation
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://bit.ly/videographyexamples2021
Primary URL Description: Link to Google Drive folder
Format: Video
Format: Digital File

Educational videos on HOBO data loggers (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Educational videos on HOBO data loggers
Writer: Isabelle Lobley
Writer: Abigail Slawik
Writer: Peiyuan Sun
Abstract: Coursework in Preventive Conservation produced the following raw videos as preliminary versions of educational videos on HOBO data loggers
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://bit.ly/preventiveconservation2021
Format: Video
Format: Digital File

Health and Safety Considerations for Menthol (Article)
Title: Health and Safety Considerations for Menthol
Author: Anne Kingery-Schwartz
Author: Adrienne Gendron
Author: Kerith Koss Schrager
Abstract: forthcoming
Year: 2022
Primary URL: https://www.culturalheritage.org/publications/aic-news
Format: Newspaper
Publisher: AIC News

Hazard or Artifact? How OEHS Informs Collection Management of World Trade Center Dust at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum (Article)
Title: Hazard or Artifact? How OEHS Informs Collection Management of World Trade Center Dust at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum
Author: Kerith Koss Schrager
Author: Adrienne Gendron
Author: Lisa Conte
Abstract: Forthcoming
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://tinyurl.com/yckrnazm
Format: Other
Periodical Title: The Synergist
Publisher: The Synergist

WCG Meeting Summary: “Investigating Portrait of Girolamo Mercuriale by Lavinia Fontana at the Walters Art Museum” (Report)
Title: WCG Meeting Summary: “Investigating Portrait of Girolamo Mercuriale by Lavinia Fontana at the Walters Art Museum”
Author: Derek Lintala
Abstract: During his tenure at the National Gallery, Derek Lintala composed a meeting summary for the Washington Conservation Guild “Emerging Professionals Talks” series on a lecture delivered by Conservation Center alumnus Hae Min Park ‘18, Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in Paintings Conservation at the Walters Art Museum.
Date: 05/02/2022
Primary URL: http://washingtonconservationguild.org/2022/05/02/wcg-meeting-summary-investigating-portrait-girolamo-mercuriale-lavinia-fontana-walters-art-museum/

Unshackled: A Technical Study of the Portrait of Lady Willoughby de Broke (Article)
Title: Unshackled: A Technical Study of the Portrait of Lady Willoughby de Broke
Author: Derek Lintala
Abstract: Forthcoming
Year: 2022
Access Model: Subscription
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Transactions of the Romney Society
Publisher: Transactions of the Romney Society

Prizes

Maclean Eltham Essay Prize in Romney Studies
Date: 8/31/2022
Organization: Romney Society

Piecing Together a Damaged Relievo Ambrotype (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Piecing Together a Damaged Relievo Ambrotype
Author: Natasha Kung
Abstract: This presentation will describe the reconstruction of a damaged sixth-plate relievo ambrotype conducted under the supervision of the conservators at the Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts (CCAHA). Relievo is a unique presentation method that gives an ambrotype portrait a sense of three-dimensionality by scraping away the collodion image layer around the sitter and painting the reverse of the glass support with black varnish. The glass support of the work in question was broken into six pieces with one area of loss. With Paraloid B-72 in toluene as an adhesive, it was stabilized using a vertical assembly method based upon reconstruction techniques used in glass conservation. Losses in the black backing were inpainted with pigments in Aquazol and adjusted for gloss. After treatment, the photograph and its housing components were rebound and reinserted into their case. The purpose of this case study is to share details of this treatment as well as considerations for adhesives and inpainting. This talk will also highlight ongoing research on the history of this ambrotype variation and present findings from a survey of relievo ambrotypes in the collection of the George Eastman Museum.
Date: 04/08/2022
Primary URL: https://www.anagpic2022.com/speakerbios
Primary URL Description: ANAGPIC webpage
Conference Name: Association of North American Graduate Programs in Conservation

A Summer with the Kress Collection: Conserving a 13th Century Sienese Dossal (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: A Summer with the Kress Collection: Conserving a 13th Century Sienese Dossal
Author: Ruth Waddington
Abstract: A Summer with the Kress Collection: Conserving a 13th Century Sienese Dossal
Date: 11/15/2021
Conference Name: Summer Projects Day III, Institute of Fine Arts, NYU

In the Field: The Archaeological Exploration of Sardis, Turkey (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: In the Field: The Archaeological Exploration of Sardis, Turkey
Author: Ameya Grant
Abstract: In the Field: The Archaeological Exploration of Sardis, Turkey
Date: 11/15/2021
Conference Name: Summer Projects Day III, Institute of Fine Arts, NYU

Objects Conservation at the Alaska State Museum (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Objects Conservation at the Alaska State Museum
Author: Adrienne Gendron
Abstract: Objects Conservation at the Alaska State Museum
Date: 11/15/2021

Preservation and Access – Challenges at the Alaska State Museums (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Preservation and Access – Challenges at the Alaska State Museums
Writer: Ellenn Carrlee
Abstract: llen Carrlee who will speak to the Institute's conservation students about the changing role of conservators, the interaction with constituencies we serve, and our shifting professional attitudes about the “tension” between preservation and access. Ellen will discuss the preventive conservation outreach work of the Alaska State Museum over the past two decades as summarized in the award-winning online resource: https://lam.alaska.gov/deterioration-agents. Her talk will include behind-the-scenes dilemmas and examples of collaborative solutions for each of these traditional preventive conservation hazards under an emerging “Networks of Care” approach.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://bit.ly/preservationandaccess
Format: Video
Format: Digital File

“Brittle Paper: What’s the Problem?” (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: “Brittle Paper: What’s the Problem?”
Writer: Alexa Machnik
Abstract: Summary: This video explores the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that contribute to the impermanence of western paper produced between 1800-1950, when manual papermaking processes shifted to mechanization. It introduces the chemical composition of paper and the acidic pathways that lead to its untimely deterioration, as well as efforts cultural institutions are taking to extend the life of brittle paper-based materials (i.e., books, newspapers, documents) from this period.
Year: 2022
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mbl03zHU05k
Primary URL Description: “Brittle Paper: What’s the Problem?” by Alexa Machnik
Format: Video
Format: Digital File

“The Life of a Chromogenic Print” (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: “The Life of a Chromogenic Print”
Writer: Emma Hartman
Abstract: Summary: The video uses laboratory experiments and animations to describe color photochemistry and the deterioration of color photographs.
Year: 2022
Primary URL: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yhtg41p4XPioq3aa4AxyUKCWIkSTf6Gs/view?ts=6477361f
Primary URL Description: “The Life of a Chromogenic Print” by Emma Hartman
Format: Video
Format: Digital File

“Fading Lake Pigments” (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: “Fading Lake Pigments”
Writer: Ruth Waddington
Abstract: Summary: This video explores what causes a class of pigments called ‘lakes’ to fade with exposure to light. It describes the relationship between light and energy, how this energy interacts with lake pigments, and how we can measure and mitigate the effects of light damage.
Year: 2022
Primary URL: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OjbVzZM3VOqPylc0_KmLlHnxFCPIQQED/view?ts=647735f3
Primary URL Description: “Fading Lake Pigments” by Ruth Waddington
Format: Video
Format: Digital File

Isabelle Lobley, Fourth-Year Capstone Internship, Royal Armouries, Flintlock Firearm (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Isabelle Lobley, Fourth-Year Capstone Internship, Royal Armouries, Flintlock Firearm
Writer: Isabelle Lobley
Abstract: An illustrative timelapse video of the filling of flight holes in a flintlock firearm represents approximately an hour and ten minutes of work on the firearm and an estimated 1/6 of the filling in total.
Year: 2023
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/embed/EkqjCEDjLQs?feature=oembed
Primary URL Description: Isabelle Lobley, Fourth-Year Capstone Internship, Royal Armouries
Format: Video
Format: Digital File
Format: Web

Isabelle Lobley, Fourth-Year Capstone Internship, Royal Armouries, Chain Mail (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Isabelle Lobley, Fourth-Year Capstone Internship, Royal Armouries, Chain Mail
Writer: Isabelle Lobley
Abstract: Timelapse video of link insertion on chain mail shirt.
Year: 2023
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/embed/yfADwmEPNaY?feature=oembed
Primary URL Description: Isabelle Lobley, Fourth-Year Capstone Internship, Royal Armouries, Chain Mail
Format: Video
Format: Digital File
Format: Web

Summer Projects Day I: Paintings and Objects Conservation - September 27, 2022 (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Summer Projects Day I: Paintings and Objects Conservation - September 27, 2022
Writer: Ruth Waddington
Abstract: Presentations from current IFA conservation students on their summer 2022 work projects.
Year: 2022
Primary URL: https://vimeo.com/755618844
Primary URL Description: Password: Summer2022
Format: Video
Format: Digital File
Format: Web

Summer Projects Day II: Paper, Paintings & Objects Conservation - October 26, 2022 (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Summer Projects Day II: Paper, Paintings & Objects Conservation - October 26, 2022
Writer: Isabelle Lobley
Writer: Devon Lee
Abstract: Presentations from current IFA conservation students on their summer 2022 work projects.
Year: 2022
Primary URL: https://vimeo.com/765042112
Primary URL Description: Password: Summer2022
Format: Video
Format: Digital File
Format: Web

Why Can’t We Be Friends? Technical Analysis and the Disputed Authorship of a Sixteenth-Century Italian Altarpiece (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Why Can’t We Be Friends? Technical Analysis and the Disputed Authorship of a Sixteenth-Century Italian Altarpiece
Author: Ruth Waddington
Abstract: The Samuel H. Kress Collection’s “Madonna and Child with Saint James Major and Saint Jerome” (oil on panel, 58 5/8 × 54 1/2 inches) at the High Museum in Atlanta has a long-disputed authorship between the two of the greatest painters of this period, Moretto da Brescia (1498-1554), known as Moretto, and Girolamo Romanino (1484/87–1560), called Romanino. My proposed paper expands on my preliminary findings presented at ANAGPIC this year as I have worked to integrate technical findings with art historical research to make a case for the painting as a collaboration between the two artists. For my technical study, I utilized X-radiography, infrared reflectography, X-ray fluorescence, cross-section microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and close examination of the painting in its cleaned state to understand the artist’s technique. Significant findings include infrared evidence that the artist worked up the Madonna’s head several times and that Saint Jerome’s pose, which many art historians used in their attribution arguments, was altered between the underdrawing and the final painting. I will further evaluate how our visual appreciation of the painting has changed as a result of changes made over time, both naturally and through human intervention. For example, we calculated a loss of six centimeters from the top of the panel based on the position of the dowel holes, and this seemingly insignificant portion made a significant visual difference in the digital reconstruction I created.
Date: 5/24/2024
Primary URL: https://sched.co/1Wvwo
Primary URL Description: Conference presentation listing for: Why Can’t We Be Friends? Technical Analysis and the Disputed Authorship of a Sixteenth-Century Italian Altarpiece
Conference Name: American Institute for Conservation (AIC) 52nd Annual Meeting

What can be lost in the investigation: Exploring the impact of (re)contextualization and scientific analysis on a transformed object (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: What can be lost in the investigation: Exploring the impact of (re)contextualization and scientific analysis on a transformed object
Author: Maria Olivia Davalos Stanton
Author: Lisa Conte
Author: Lauren Klein
Abstract: This paper focuses on an unremarkable metal fragment — a supposed piece of Fritz Koenig’s The Sphere damaged during the 9/11 terrorist attacks and later transformed into a memorial. Ascertaining the fragment’s metal alloy makeup has the potential to verify or refute whether the fragment, in fact, came from the Sphere, as its finder who saved it as a relic firmly believed. Our study considers the ethics surrounding knowledge production in art conservation, focusing on the ethical implications of scientific analysis. The exploration, drawing from many fields, considers the interplay between “therapeutic privilege,” informed consent, and the pursuit of truth.
Date: 6/27/2024
Primary URL: https://openagenda.com/fr/ciha-2024/events/leloge-de-la-matiere-la-materialite-et-ses-enjeux-dans-le-domaine-des-monuments-historiques-12-1516740
Primary URL Description: Session title: The praise of matter / Materiality and its challenges in the field of Historic Monuments 2/2 Round table title: "Materiality and memory of loss : should we study, restore or even reproduce vanished cultural heritage ?"
Secondary URL: https://livebyglevents.key4register.com/key4register/AbstractList.aspx?e=148&preview=1&aig=-1&ai=8998
Secondary URL Description: This paper focuses on an unremarkable metal fragment — a supposed piece of Fritz Koenig’s The Sphere damaged during the 9/11 terrorist attacks and later transformed into a memorial. Ascertaining the fragment’s metal alloy makeup has the potential to verify or refute whether the fragment, in fact, came from the Sphere, as its finder who saved it as a relic firmly believed. Our study considers the ethics surrounding knowledge production in art conservation, focusing on the ethical implications of scientific analysis. The exploration, drawing from many fields, considers the interplay between “therapeutic privilege,” informed consent, and the pursuit of truth.
Conference Name: 36th Congress of the Comité International d'Histoire de l'Art​ (CIHA)

Summer Projects Day I - September 18, 2023 (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Summer Projects Day I - September 18, 2023
Writer: Devon Lee
Abstract: Public presentations from IFA conservation students on their summer 2023 work projects.
Year: 2023
Primary URL: https://vimeo.com/869547330
Primary URL Description: Password: @Summer23
Secondary URL: https://nyu.zoom.us/rec/play/TyPiHtBv8NU0rWQBIuzVha6xCE-jD1a0j7zdIWldJRSFY2p6NMZVrXbfdpXzi4jh8VeohCWCvyZ5ayYU.3HERkm2XgevaT-qW?canPlayFromShare=true&from=share_recording_detail&continueMode=true&componentName=rec-play&originRequestUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fnyu.zo
Secondary URL Description: Zoom recording & transcript
Format: Video
Format: Digital File
Format: Web

Summer Projects Day II - October 23, 2023 (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Summer Projects Day II - October 23, 2023
Writer: Devon Lee
Writer: Maria Olivia Davalos Stanton
Writer: Alexa Kline
Abstract: Public presentations from IFA conservation students on their summer 2023 work projects.
Year: 2023
Primary URL: https://vimeo.com/877637029
Primary URL Description: Password: @Summer23
Secondary URL: https://nyu.zoom.us/rec/play/nHcllHBPIFVvxsKtFoZGmJKuhUFU9pF0CKp5JVyYkn2uxaAfVidFZgNSNvhZ85YDWOdnaDR0OdD1kU8v.Vkfl99a03Q-KozS-
Secondary URL Description: Zoom recording, shared screen with speaker view
Format: Video
Format: Digital File
Format: Web

Summer Projects Day III - November 20, 2023 (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Summer Projects Day III - November 20, 2023
Writer: Kyle Norris
Writer: Amalia Donastorg
Abstract: Public presentations from IFA conservation students on their summer 2023 work projects.
Year: 2023
Primary URL: https://vimeo.com/890313781
Primary URL Description: Password: @Summer23
Secondary URL: https://nyu.zoom.us/rec/play/goEJAj2xs8rx-6OdV643lBRqJJ959lwAXBup4xu7H8-tcpOXkMXfWp3d_jlaUwnBEiAh94s22xWNG8Ic.OUmsRtOirmhdF5sy
Secondary URL Description: Zoom recording, shared screen with speaker view
Format: Video
Format: Digital File
Format: Web

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