Now approaching its 10th year, the Praska Distinguished Visiting Professorship recognizes a distinguished conservator or scientist who brings new areas for research and teaching to the program in conservation.
The Conservation Center of the Institute of Fine Arts is pleased to welcome Steven Weintraub and Denyse Montegut as the 2021–2022 Judith Praska Distinguished Visiting Professors in Conservation and Technical Studies. Weintraub, founder and Principal of Art Preservation Services (APS), and Montegut, Professor in the Fashion and Textile Studies at the Fashion Institute of Technology, will teach in fall 2021 and spring 2022 semesters, respectively.
Now approaching its tenth year, the Praska Distinguished Visiting Professorship recognizes a distinguished conservator or scientist who brings new areas for research and teaching to the program in conservation. Weintraub will teach Color and Perception in the fall of 2021 and Montegut will teach Polymers, Fibers, Yarns and Weave Structures in Fabrics in the spring of 2022. Both will deliver public lectures during their tenure.
Christine Poggi, the Judy and Michael Steinhardt Director of the Institute of Fine Arts, said, “We are thrilled that these distinguished alumni of the Institute will be joining us at the Conservation Center in the next academic year. Their knowledge of and practical experience with material science and conservation will serve as a rich resource for our students.”
Michele D. Marincola, Chair of the Conservation Center and Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Professor of Conservation, notes, “Steve’s specialization in the perception of color is a crucial addition to our program; we are privileged to be able to host him in the fall term. Denyse’s expertise in fiber identification and textile chemistry complements the course offered by Steve and will attract students from different specialties, with its emphasis on mastering polarizing light microscopy, identification of weave structures, and assessing treatment options for fiber-based objects.”
Steven Weintraub is the founder and Principal of Art Preservation Services (APS), established in 1988. He specializes in the preservation of museum collections. In addition to environmental consultation work for museums, he has done pioneering research in the areas of museum lighting and museum microclimates. The primary focus of his research on perception of color is to provide a scientific basis for establishing a balance between the need to minimize light-induced damage on artworks without sacrificing the qualitative experience of viewing art in a museum setting. Weintraub holds a B.A from Colgate University, and an M.A. in Art History and a Certificate in Conservation from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University.
Steven Weintraub
Denyse Montegut, a textile conservator, is Professor in the Fashion and Textile Studies Department, School of Graduate Studies, at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Her specialties are microscopy, fiber chemistry, and material science, and she was awarded the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Teaching in 2004. She was Chair of her department from 1996 to 2019, during which time she developed its conservation component into a well-respected Master’s training program. She holds a B.A from Brooklyn College, and an M.A. in Art History and a Certificate in Conservation from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. She is A.B.D. in Art Conservation Research at the University of Delaware, where her dissertation studies focused on textile forgeries of Rhenish 13th–15th century metal printed textiles, a topic that she was introduced to during her 1993 Kress Fellowship at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum. Most recently in 2020, Professor Montegut was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Textile Specialty Group of the American Institute for Conservation.
About the Conservation Center of the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University
The Institute of Fine Arts is an international leader in research and graduate teaching, and is committed to global engagement and advancing the fields of art history, archaeology, and the theory and practice of conservation. New York City, with its incomparable resources and vitality, provides a backdrop and extended campus for the Institute’s activities. Founded in 1960, the Conservation Center is the oldest degree-granting graduate program in art conservation in the United States. The Conservation Center offers a four-year, dual MA/MS graduate program that combines training in conservation with historical, archaeological, curatorial, and scientific studies.
For more information, please contact Professor Michele Marincola, Chair of the Conservation Center, at mm71@nyu.edu.
Originally published May 26, 2021
Modified September 13, 2021