Early Art Conservation at Harvard October 30, 2008

In 1928, the Fogg Museum of Art in Cambridge, MA established the first research and conservation department for a U.S. museum. Yet even before that, the Fogg was pioneering modern U.S. conservation practices, integrating research into artists’ techniques and materials, as well as art preservation.

Francesca G. Bewer, research curator at the Straus Center for Conservation, Harvard Art Museum, will discuss how and why the museum promoted a more scientific approach to the restoration and preservation of artworks, and how this affected the education of museum professionals, restorers and artists during the first half of the twentieth century. This program is presented by the Lunder Conservation Center and will be located in the Nan Tucker McEvoy Auditorium. Free and open to the public.

Official Website: http://npg.si.edu