The CMA’s conservators and fellows have academic backgrounds that include art history, studio art, and chemistry as well as advanced education and training in the conservation of art and historic collections.
Their mission is to study, preserve, and conserve the works of art in the CMA’s collection and the works of art traveling to the CMA from other museums and collections around the world. CMA conservators have trained at conservation training programs around the world, including the Fashion Institute of Technology, the Institute of Conservation of Cultural Relics and Museology at the Tainan National University of the Arts, New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts, Queen’s University, Buffalo State University (SUNY) Patricia H. and Richard E. Garman Art Conservation Department, and the Winterthur / University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation. CMA conservators are experts in Asian paintings, objects, paper, preventive conservation, photographs, textiles, and paintings.
The CMA’s conservation technicians have mastered the skills needed to prepare works of art for display and storage. Utilizing their own artistic and craft knowledge and practices, combined with apprenticeship-like training, the conservation technicians create custom archival mounts, frames, and housing that showcase the art while ensuring its safety. The CMA’s technicians are experts in fine-art matting and framing, water gilding, frame restoration and reproduction, and mounting textiles.
Contact CMA conservation at conservator@clevelandart.org.
Become a Conservator
Interested in exploring a career in conservation? Check out the American Institute for Conservation’s (AIC) “Become a Conservator” page to learn more about preprogram opportunities.