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instructionsWelcome to the Conservation Center
The Conservation Center of the Institute of Fine Arts, located in the Stephen Chan House, is dedicated to the study of the technology and conservation of works of art and historic artifacts. It prepares students for careers in conservation through a four-year program that combines practical experience in conservation with historical, archaeological, curatorial, and scientific studies of the materials and construction of works of art. Students undertake research projects, laboratory work, seminars, and gain intensive conservation experience through advanced fieldwork and the Internship.
The Conservation Center’s specially designed facilities in the Stephen Chan House provide modern flexible laboratory, library, lecture hall, and classroom space which has proved well-suited for conservation training. Located on East 78th Street in Manhattan, diagonally across from the Institute of Fine Arts’ James B. Duke House, the Center enjoys ready access to the Institute’s art historical resources as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and nearby museums, galleries, private collections, auction houses and historic properties. Our location also makes it easy to draw upon the many conservators and conservation scientists in the area. On average, we have thirty visiting conservation professionals per year, creating a dynamic atmosphere in which to learn the three fundamentals of our program -- art history, conservation practice and conservation theory.
History
The
Conservation Center is located in the Stephen Chan house, which, together with
the James B. Duke House, comprises New York University’s Institute of
Fine Arts. In addition to the Institute’s faculty and library, the Center
enjoys ready access to curators and collections of the Metropolitan Museum of
Art and other nearby museums, galleries, private collections, auction houses,
historic properties, and monuments. The Center acts as a focal point for the
learning and doing of conservation in all its aspects. A lively program of visiting
professionals enhances the formal course offerings, which are supported by a
distinguished faculty, flexible and well-equipped studios, and a library supporting
the research needs of students and over two hundred visiting scholars a year.
The Center also reflects the broader community of conservators in the New York
area by hosting numerous professional events.
In the late 1950s, when the Fogg Museum at Harvard University ceased to accept apprentices, no opportunities for formal academic training in conservation existed in North America. To foster the idea of a training program under the jurisdiction of a university, Sheldon Keck suggested to Craig Hugh Smyth, director of the Institute of Fine Arts, that the school consider introducing coursework in art conservation. As the Institute’s mission was to provide graduate education in art, archaeology, and museum training, conservation seemed a logical addition to its curriculum.
In 1958, a proposal was submitted to the Rockefeller Foundation requesting initial financial support. The application was successful, and in 1960 the Conservation Center opened its modest laboratory in the cellar and sub-basement of the James B. Duke House. Fives students were accepted into the first class. Shouldering the mantle of directorship in 1961, Sheldon Keck guided the Center through its formative years until 1965. Over time, consultants and instructors were hired, including Lawrence J. Majewski, who became chairman in 1966, George Stout, Murray Pease, Robert L. Feller, Edward V. Sayre, and Rutherford J. Gettens.
In 1983, after over two decades in the Duke House, the Center moved into the nearby Stephen Chan House. Originally a private town house, its 1917 façade was kept intact, while its interior was demolished to create twelve thousand square feet of functional space. Designed by architect Michael Forstl, the new Conservation Center was equipped with teaching and research laboratories, library and study rooms, photo studio, office spaces, and versatile studio spaces flooded with northern light.
Click here to take a Virtual Tour of the Conservation Center.
Following the retirement of Lawrence J. Majewski, Margaret Holben Ellis became chairman in 1987. Under the new leadership, the program continued to evolve in response to shifts in the profession and external reviews. Certain aspects of the existing curriculum were modified and entirely new course offerings were designed and implemented.
For example, recognizing the national need for improved instruction in the conservation of archaeological and ethnographic materials, a pilot course of studies was introduced in 1988-89, which later became a permanent part of the curriculum. The Institute’s involvement since 1963 in archaeological excavations also supplements classroom instruction. To date, over seventy students have traveled to such disparate sites as Greece, Turkey, Italy, Egypt, Crete, Australia, Israel, Cyprus, and the southwest United States to participate as on-site conservators. Instruction in the conservation of material culture collections continues to be in high demand and has been bolstered by support form the National Endowments for the Arts and for the Humanities.
In 1991, the establishment of the Samuel H. Kress Program in Paintings Conservation augmented the paintings conservation curriculum. The basis of this program is the examination and treatment of predominantly early Italian renaissance paintings selected from Kress Regional Collections around the United States. The paintings have provided highly effective learning experiences for both conservation and art history students and have, in several instances resulted in qualifying papers written in fulfillment of the requirements for the art history degree.
In 2002, Michele Marincola was hired as Sherman Fairchild Chairman and Professor of Conservation. Professor Ellis continues her position at the Conservation Center as professor of paper conservation. Professor Marincola has taken further the process of curriculum review, handling the scope of inquiry to include the core curriculum, comparing classes offered in the first two years of study that each student must take. The review has sought to eliminate redundancies in the program while incorporating new material we consider essential for all conservators. During the academic years 2003-2005, a new course of foundation study has been drafted and will be substituted for final approval in Fall 2005. We anticipate the commencement of the new curriculum in Fall 2006. Upper-level course offerings have also been expanded – the past three years, including classes devoted to the science and conservation of modern materials, Treatment of polychrome Sculpture, and the technical study and connoisseurship of prints and drawings and of American and European paintings.
In addition to NYU-sponsored archaeological excavations, students at the Conservation Center are able to choose among a host of exciting summer work opportunities. Museums, libraries, and archives in this country and abroad offer summer internships in their conservation laboratories. The Conservation Center has also expanded its teaching venues to New York University’s estate in Italy. The property is located in the hills above Florence and comprises vineyard, orchards, and five villas scattered across fifty-seven rolling acres. The centerpiece of the estate is the fifteenth-century Villa La Pietra, donated to the university in 1994 by Sir Harold Acton. The villa houses an extensive and relatively undisturbed collection of early Italian paintings, textiles, sculpture, furniture and porcelains. Conservation Center personnel are currently developing programs to treat portions of the collection and to provide on-going assistance in its maintenance (as seen in the below photo). With several generous grants from the Sheldon Solow Art and Architecture Foundation, Conservation Center students have participated in the conservation efforts. Many have spent one week to a month treating artifacts in the collection, surveying parts of the collection, and visiting conservation labs in the Florence area.
The Facility and Virtual Tour
This virtual tour of the Conservation Center gives prospective students an opportunity to “walk-through” the facilities -- labs, library, etc. -- as well as see students at work or in class.
If you would like to arrange a tour, contact
Click here
to begin the virtual tour.
Click
here for the CC Newsletter online.
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For more information about the program call, fax or e-mail:
The Conservation Center
Phone (212)992-5848
Fax (212)992-5851
e-mail: