Conservation
Evening view of the Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation Center for Conservation by Lake|Flato Architects. Photograph © Richard Barnes
Here's a shot of me (Anikó Bezur) in the Galleria Palatina in Florence, Italy. I'm positioning the X-ray fluorescence spectrometer to analyze pigments in a lemon in Willem van Aelst's Still Life with Ram’s Head (1652). Note the snazzy headlamp—another outdoor-sports component of our gear—that I used to overcome challenging lighting conditions in the room.
Heather Brown completes the final treatment step: retouching with watercolors.
ACNT conservators attached “kinran” brocade to frame the paintings. The brocade was custom dyed and woven with gold thread at the Hironobu Textile Studio in Kyoto.
Here is another view of the finished mantelpiece.
Art handlers and conservators return the Aubusson Carpet to Rienzi’s ballroom in late August 2015.
Heather Brown discusses the photograph’s treatment with Malcolm Daniel, curator in charge of the department of photography and special projects; and Toshi Koseki, Carol Crow Senior Conservator of Photographs.
Zahira Bomford, senior conservator of paintings, and David Bomford, chairman of conservation, observe a painting in the conservation studio.
The conservation department is one of many Museum departments that work behind the scenes to safeguard the MFAH art collections. Conservators are responsible for conservation treatment, safe environmental conditions, and the overall care of the works of art. The conservators collaborate with other Museum staff to ensure safe handling, display, and storage of the art.
► Learn more about the Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation Center for Conservation