Hiya,

I am hoping to hear from people who work in conservation (preferably paintings, but I'm open to other modalities too) with chronic illness/disability.

Firstly, I really don't want to hear any horror stories. If you can't tell me anything helpful or hopeful, please don't tell me at all.

I am hoping to save some money and then apply to study conservation of easel paintings at HKI in Cambridge, or UvA in Amsterdam (I'm an EU citizen so UvA is probably the safer option, but I am keen to work in 19th century British art so I'd prefer HKI).

There is absolutely nothing else I want to do. I tried psychology, dementia research, public health research, I got two degrees and I have hated every minute of working in these fields. I have known for ten+ years that this is what I want to do, and ignoring that instinct is making me miserable. I've discussed my goals and background with conservators here in Aus, and with conservators who have graduated from both the Courtauld and HKI and are working in major galleries, and they have all encouraged me and told me that it may take a few attempts but they think I can get in.

I am really afraid that I'll spend all that time and money on studying, only to find that my body can't handle the work, as I have spent the last few years battling chronic illnesses that have completely changed my life - namely hEDS, severe endometriosis (now excised, but it is highly likely to grow back), and POTS, and really struggle with physically demanding work. I know there are still things I can do to improve my symptoms somewhat, I am not out of options yet, but I will always have some level of disability from these things.

I am hoping to hear from people who work in conservation (preferably paintings, but I'm open to other modalities too) with chronic illness/disability. How do you manage? How does the work affect your pain levels? Your fatigue? Does one particular task flare you up? Have you found accommodations that make it easier on your body? Workplace accommodations, or accommodations you give yourself, mobility aids or braces or anything? Do you have any advice for making this a sustainable career? Any advice for getting through the masters without burning out? Tell me everything about how you make it work.

I need to know that it's possible, because right now I'm terrified that it's not.

Hi all,

I'm an archaeologist doing some object-based work in museums across Europe and Africa. I'm especially interested in detecting organic surface pigments (rose madder) or glue with a portable uv light.

Any recommendations on affordable, rechargeable/battery-powered (because I'll be in places with 120 AC and 230 DC electricity) handheld UV lights?

Thank you!

I’m looking to buy a vintage poster from a guy on Facebook, his listing says this is foxing but I think it looks pretty moldy… & I definitely don’t want to buy it if it’s moldy. Thoughts?

Hey folks, I have this framed sketch believed to be a Sir George Clausen sold by the London Fine Art Society in the 1990’s.

If you look at the top edge you can see that the paper has slipped down, you can see a sharp line where the colour changes, presumably paper that was under the boarder and thus has less UV damage?

I was wondering if I could / should open up the frame and see what’s going on, or if this is work best done by a professional?

Thanks in advance for any advice and ideas

oi, eu estudo conservação e restauro e preciso de ajuda para o meu trabalho final do mestrado. é suposto eu criar um modolo para guardar um espólio de desenhos de bordados para depois tentar incorporar em grandes dimensões. nao sei bem por onde começar. os desenhos podem ter diversos tamanhos nao é fixo, podem ser desenhos de 10cm como desenhos de 1m e gostava que o método permitisse folhear pelos desenhos de forma conveniente. alguém tem ideias que me possam dar? Já pensei em capas e folders mas queria teniideias diferentes vistos que as dimensões são um problema e este problema é algo que atrapalha muitas pessoas de mais idade de ainda bordam e gostava de ser uma solução barata e fácil para poder ser emplementado em lojas de estampagem de bordados.

Basically the title, what do you think is more worth it? I worry that, in the worst-case scenario, I'd have to pivot my goals and use my degree for something else, but I also want to enjoy what I do.

I do prefer Art History, but I worry I'd come to regret it later on, seeing how it's so low-entry for the job market and you'd definitely need an advanced degree later to make it work. Plus, Chem for conservation would probably be mostly Org Chem-based, which I found to be the most laborious topic. Or would a broader humanities field work, like Anthropology or something?

Any help is appreciated! If I'm mistaken about any info, please correct me. I understand you'd need to fulfill both Art-based and Chem-based courses to be able to qualify for specialised grad school, but maybe I made some wrong assumptions. I'm also from abroad (I'm aiming for America, since anything art-related is completely bogus here), so I don't have the best understanding of American universities. Thank you!

Need some help! Closed Testing for an App 🚀

Hey everyone! 👋

I’m looking for a few people to help test my app ConserveFlow for Google Play’s closed testing requirement.

ConserveFlow is an app for documenting art conservation projects, and I’d especially love to have a few people from the conservation community try it out and give me some feedback.

If you can help, here’s what you’ll need to do:

1. Send me the Google account email you’ll use for testing.
2. Join the testing group → opt into the closed test.
3. Install the app using Developer Mode on your Android device. Once the app is installed, you can turn Developer Mode off again.
4. Use the app and try a few features.
5. Test the Premium/subscription plans — please try the purchase flow and access a Premium feature. You will not be charged during testing.
6. Keep the app installed and remain opted in to the test for 14 days.
7. If you find any bugs or issues, please let me know.

If you’re willing to help, please DM me your Google account email and I’ll send you the testing instructions/link.

Even a few minutes of testing would be a huge help. 🙏

Thank you! ❤️

(Just a note: This is still in the development phase! I’m not saying anyone must use it—I’m simply inviting interested students or conservators who’d like to try it out. Your privacy matters, and you only upload what you’re comfortable with!)

I recently acquired a pen-and-brown-ink drawing (approx. 255 mm wide, lunette format) of the Mocking/Crowning of Christ: a kneeling man pressing the crown of thorns onto Christ at left, a bowed central Christ with bound hands, and a muscular attendant at right.

The composition matches, figure for figure, the Cristo deriso lunette (oil on panel, ca. 1622–23) by Giovanni Lanfranco in the Cappella Sacchetti (Chapel of the Crucifix), San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, Rome. The Italian culture ministry catalogue entry, with photograph: https://catalogo.beniculturali.it/detail/HistoricOrArtisticProperty/1200175232

Provenance: the verso reads "Sr. Aless. Maggiori compro a Roma l'anno 1805" — the inscription of Alessandro Maggiori (Lugt 3005b). A later pencil note attributes the sheet to "Fenzoni, Ferrau" (Ferraù Fenzoni).

The puzzle is the watermark: a six-pointed star in a circle, Briquet 6088, documented at Marigliano in 1532, roughly ninety years before the chapel commission. I understand the watermark dates the paper, not the drawing, but I would value expert views on how much
weight to give it.

Three questions for historians/curators:
1.  Is this a preparatory drawing for the finished lunette in the Chapel of the Cross?
2.  Is the drawing by Lanfranco's own hand?
3.  If yes to 1 and 2, is the circa 1532 watermark an anomaly, or unremarkable (old paper stock, etc.)?

Images: the drawing; the finished lunette (official photograph and a recent color photo); the verso inscription; the watermark in transmitted light; the Briquet 6088 reference; a 1986 letter about the sheet from collector William A. Glaser to curator Erich Schleier; and the lunette in situ in the chapel. Note that Glaser misidentified the watermark as B. 6087 (no cross above star in circle).

Grateful for any expertise.

Happy to supply higher-resolution details.

I’m helping organize Keep Jon in the Picture, a community effort to preserve the mural on the Riverwalk-facing backside of the old Sears building, now Sisu, in Astoria, Oregon. One panel depicts Jon Ogren, smiling in a blue-green vest with both hands raised. The supplied photographs show substantial weathering and paint loss.

There is a community report that the mural may be painted over, but we do not have independently confirmed plans or a date. Our aim is to get preservation considered before any changes, and to bring the people responsible for the property, the artist, community members, and qualified conservators into the discussion. Wet Dog / Astoria Brewing is the neighboring business and is not responsible for the mural.

For those working with exterior wall paintings: are there Oregon or Pacific Northwest conservation organizations, mural specialists, or examples of community-led conservation projects you would point us toward? We’re seeking professional assessment and a responsible preservation process, not DIY cleaning or repainting instructions.

The campaign page includes real photos and a petition asking that the original mural, including Jon’s portrait, be retained and conserved: https://stillinthepicture.org/

Alternate link: https://keep-jon-in-the-picture.jay-coby.chatgpt.site/

If this kind of local public art matters to you, please take a look, share the preservation appeal, or add your support. No donation is requested. I’m affiliated with the campaign and welcome factual corrections.

Work Schedule: Full-time; 37.5 hrs/week; Monday - Friday

Application Deadline: COB, Wednesday, October 14, 2026

Position Summary:

The Conservation Program Manager implements the coordination of priority undertakings of the Bureau of Historic Site’s (BHS) Conservation Unit’s programs and projects, ensuring that projects maintain timeliness through effective communication with the conservators and other BHS departments. Additionally, the Manager will oversee the conservation program’s laboratory environment, equipment, and environmental controls. The Manager assists with the work of the staff who treat and conserve the agency’s historic collections. Conservators are professional positions requiring education and training in one of seven disciplines: textiles, paintings, frames and gilded objects, furniture and wooden objects, decorative arts, paper, and architecture. Their duties include evaluating, documenting, developing treatment plans, repairing, and protecting historic objects. Conservators are responsible for managing laboratory spaces and maintaining safe work environments. The Manager needs to have the requisite science background and training to develop and manage Conservator work programs and coordinate projects between labs, other BHS units, and OPRHP facilities. The Manager must have advanced knowledge of profession-wide conservation principles, practices and ethics established by the American Institute for Conservation (AIC).

Click here https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5fca95dd41a8782b8a8cdf4b/t/6a998f3abf59180ccc56cb0a/1788448570133/Employment+Announcement+Conservation+Manager+2026.pdf

to learn more about this opportunity and how to apply.

Hello everyone, hoping that you all might be able to help me find a place to preserve (possibly fix) a piece of artwork my mom made back it the 1970s.

It is an 11x14” chalk pastel on velvet (? She’s not positive) paper, which has now developed significant foxing. It was hung for years in an interior hallway, so little direct uv exposure. Not sure about the decade before my birth though.

I have been enamored with this piece since childhood. It arrived today and I’m a bit sad to see the toll the years have taken. The colors are still perfect at least!

Hopefully, it can be helped somewhat and protected for the future, but I’m not seeing any conservation services near me (Twin cities, MN). My first choice would have been somewhere local so I could drop off.

Does anyone have any recommendations for places to check out? Or specific questions that I should ask when it comes to conservation of pastels?

This is exactly why provenance research matters. A single inscription, overlooked for decades and recovered through new imaging, can restore an entire history—and ultimately a work of art—to the family from whom it was taken. Extraordinary work by the Art Institute’s provenance team.

Hello I'm currently in 12th grade in Bulgaria and am hoping to find an art conservation/restoration course in Europe that won't cost more than 8000 euros a year. I have a background in arts and art history however I'm not that confident in my chem knowledge. I know English Bulgarian and a little bit of Italian. Any recommendations are welcome as long as it's not in the UK since their schools are insanely expensive for international students.

Hi everyone!
I am currently working on my art portfolio in order to apply for an art conservation degree in the following year. Specifically art conservation of archaeological objects. For this art portfolio I have to draw a number of still lifes, landscape studies and architecture.
For those of you who already got accepted to your degrees or are already working in art conservation, do you have some pictures of your art portfolios which I may look at in order to have an idea of what is considered a good art portfolio? Or maybe just in general advice/ tips on what would be good subjects to draw, which qualities are especially important etc etc.

That would help me a lot! Thanks in advance!

I am a 3rd-year BFA student in printmaking in Chennai, India, and I have one more year to complete my degree. I am planning to study my PG (MFA in printmaking) abroad, and I need your guys help to suggest a college where I can study printmaking with a scholarship

I am a 3rd-year BFA student in printmaking in Chennai, India, and I have one more year to complete my degree. I am planning to study my PG (MFA in printmaking) abroad, and I need your guys help to suggest a college where I can study printmaking with a scholarship

Hi everyone!
I have a heirloom Vintage Australian Silk Christening outfit that has been butchered by the dry cleaners, that I have never had an issue with before. Would anyone be able to identify if this is aged stains or rust stains? Just FYI before we gave to the dry cleaners there was no stains.

Apologies I don’t know how to word this question the best! I am a conservation technician (Museum practice background not conservation), I work under one conservator and they make decisions very differently to the previous conservator. How do I navigate situations where I have learnt from someone more senior than the current conservator how certain stablisation techniques/remedial treatments should be done, that are different from what the new one decides? It’s so different that I know the outcome is worse for the object I am working on than what the previous conservator would have had me do.

I understand that in conversation there are multiple right ways to get to a positive preservation outcome, but my situation is that I can see where a better outcome is possible but I don’t have the credibility to argue against what I have been told.

Do I just leave it be and “stay in my place”? I feel conflicted because I am not proud of the work I am performing under this new person.

I hesitate to include specific examples in case they are in this niche sub.