Faculty
IFA Faculty Directory
Faculty & Fields of Study
IFA Staff Directory
NYU Directory
CV | ContactMargaret Holben Ellis
Eugene Thaw Professor of Paper Conservation; Director, Thaw Conservation Center, The Morgan Library and Museum (part-time); Conservation Consultant, Villa La Pietra

M.A. in Art History and Advanced Certificate in Conservation, Institute of Fine Arts, NYU


Research interests:

Technical connoisseurship of works of art on paper
Conservation treatment of prints and drawings
Twentieth century materials and techniques of works of art on paper
Ethical issues in art conservation


Sample courses:

The Conservation Treatment of Prints and Drawings
The Technical Connoisseurship of Works of Art on Paper
Techniques of Paper Conservation
Individual Problems in examination and Treatment


Selected publications:

"Materials, Tools, and 'Technics'." In No Limits, Just Edges: Jackson Pollock Paintings on Paper. New York: Deutsche Guggenheim/Guggenheim Museum Publications, 2005.

"Watercolors Today - Dr. Ph. Martin's Synchromatic Transparent Watercolors, Magic Markers and Day-Glo Colors."In Symposium Gekleurd of Verkleurd: VAR, 11 en 12 oktober, 2001, Koninklijke Bibliotheek.Den Hague, Netherlands, 2003.

"Daylight Fluorescent Colors as Artistic Media."In The Broad Spectrum. London: Archetype Books, 2002.

"The History, Use, and Characteristics of Wax-Based Drawing Media." The Paper Conservator 22 (1998): 48-55.

"The Shifting Function of Artists' Fixatives." Journal of the American Institute for Conservation 35, no. 3 (Fall/Winter 1996): 239-254.

"Drawings in Fibre-Tipped Pen - New Conservation Challenges." Modern Works, Modern Problems?, 114-121. London: The Institute of Paper Conservation, 1994.


Selected honors:

Volume Editor, Readings in Paper Conservation, The Getty Conservation Institute, in press.

Sheldon and Caroline Keck Award, 2003. In recognition of a sustained record of excellence in the education and training of conservation professionals, American Institute for Conservation of Historic and artistic Works.

Rutherford John Gettens Award, 1997. In recognition of outstanding Service to the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works.

American Academy in Rome, Fellowship in Conservation and Historic Preservation, 1994. To revise and expand The Care of Prints and Drawings.

Chapter Author, Caring for Your Collections, The National Committee to Save America's Cultural Collections, New York: Abrams, 1992.