The Conservation Center of the Institute of Fine Arts welcomes Bertrand Lavédrine as the Judith Praska Visiting Distinguished Professors in Conservation & Technical Studies
The Conservation Center of the Institute of Fine Arts, NYU, will welcome Bertrand Lavédrine as 2022–2023 Judith Praska Visiting Distinguished Professor in Conservation & Technical Studies. Dr. Lavédrine is a professor at the National Museum of Natural History, part of the Sorbonne University Alliance, and a scientist at Center for Research in Conservation in Paris. He is an internationally recognized expert in the chemistry and preservation of photographs and the author of several books and articles on historical processes. Dr. Lavédrine will teach in the fall 2022 semester.
Now in its tenth year, the Judith Praska Distinguished Visiting Professorship has brought eighteen scholars to the Institute since 2012. Generously funded by an anonymous donor, the professorship recognizes preeminent conservation professionals who bring new areas of teaching and research to the Institute’s program in conservation. Dr. Lavédrine will teach a course entitled Research & Communication in Conservation & Science. He will deliver a public lecture during his tenure.
Professor Christine Poggi, Judy and Michael Steinhardt Director of the Institute of Fine Arts, noted, “This is an outstanding appointment for the Institute, and it will be an honor to host Dr. Lavédrine in the coming year. We look forward to enriching our course offerings with his expertise and continuing our world-class teaching and research in fine art conservation.”
Professor Michele D. Marincola, Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Professor of Conservation and Chair of the Conservation Center remarked, “Bertrand’s knowledge of chemistry and its applications in a range of preventive conservation contexts will fill an important role in our curriculum. His teaching experience, warm and welcoming personality, and depth of knowledge will be greatly appreciated by our community.”
Bertrand Lavédrine is a professor at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN) and a scientist at the Centre de Recherche sur la Conservation (CRC) https://www.crc.mnhn.fr in Paris. He holds a master’s degree in organic chemistry and a doctoral degree in Art and Archeology from the Faculty of Humanities, University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne. From 2003 to 2007, he was appointed as the director of the conservation training program at the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne. He has written papers and books on the preservation of photographic collections, now available in several languages (French, English, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, and Vietnamese). Dr. Lavédrine also leads research into the characterization and degradation of plastics––he was coordinator of the European funded project “POPART” (Preservation Of Plastic Artifacts in museum collections)—and the non-destructive identification of dyes and pigments used in manuscript illumination. He has participated in various international training programs funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Getty Conservation Institute, the International Center for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), and research projects funded by the European commission.
For more information, please contact Michele D. Marincola, Chair of the Conservation Center and Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Professor of Conservation, at michele.marincola@nyu.edu .