Obituaries

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IIC publishes obituaries on the website, and if appropriate in News in Conservation, for IIC Members and Fellows who have made a significant contribution to the conservation profession. Enquiries can be sent to office@iiconservation.org

Obituary: Charles H. Olin (1933-2023)

Image of Charles Olin (courtesy of son, David Olin).

Charles H. Olin was born in Niagara Falls to West Point Grad. Col. Charles L. Olin and Jeanette A. Olin. In youth he developed passions for arts, astronomy, and travel, crossing the ocean via ocean liner many times.

Charles received a B.S. in physics at Dickinson College, where he met his wife, Jacqueline: married in 1955. Charles was commissioned into the Marine Corps as a second lieutenant, studying advanced weaponry systems, leading tank maneuvers, and serving in the honor guard at 8th and I Marine Barracks. Charles resigned as a captain.

Obituary: Graham Morgan ACR, March 1944 – July 2021

Graham Morgan taking a cast of the writing face on the Tripontium Milestone at the Warwickshire Museum (c.1995) Image taken by Jack Lucas, published courtesy of Irene Glendinning.

By Helen Ganiaris

We had the sad news this past summer that IIC Fellow Dr Graham Morgan died after illness following a stroke in 2017. Graham will be remembered as one of the generation of archaeological conservators at the start of the profession who forged new techniques and ideas and could put his talents and skills to a wide variety of materials and situations.

Obituary: Tim Green

Image of Tim Green, courtesy of Tate, London

By Stephen Hackney

On 20 April 2022, Tim Green died at the age of 68. He will be greatly missed by his wife, Hazel, and his son and daughter, Joe and Nicky, as well as his wider family, all of whom were dear to him. Tim spent his conservation career at the Tate, from his student days until his retirement in 2018. He will also be remembered fondly by friends and colleagues throughout the conservation world.

Obituary: Remembering Eleanor McMillan

Eleanor McMillan and Andrew Oddy at IIC Bilbao Congress, 2004. Image courtesy of David Leigh.

By Andrew Oddy

Eleanor McMillan spent her life working in conservation in the United States, but on the international scene she served two terms on the council of IIC. She was a larger-than-life figure whose confidence no doubt stemmed from the fact that she was born into the Roosevelt family and was the great granddaughter of President Theodore Roosevelt.

Obituary: Robert H. Brill

Bob Brill featured with Herat (Afghanistan) glass (1979). Image courtesy of The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY.

By Elizabeth R. Brill and Stephen P. Koob

Dr. Robert H. Brill, research scientist emeritus at The Corning Museum of Glass, died peacefully on April 7, 2021 at his home in Corning, New York. A highly respected scientist in glass science and conservation, he researched the history of glass technology worldwide and published extensively in the fields of archaeometry and chemistry.

Obituary: John Anthony Michael Bull, FIIC (1931-2020)

Tate Gallery: John Bull, Stephan Slabchinsky, Brunio Heinberg, Percy Williams, circa 1959.

By Sarah Bull

John was born on 17th January 1931 in Bristol, England. After Bristol Grammar School, he studied Fine Art and Cabinet Making at Royal West of England College of Art, where he met his future wife of 64 years, Anne. On 12th November 1956, he began working as a junior restorer at Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery starting the Monday after his marriage to Anne.

Obituary: Peter Barstow Rockwell (1937–2020)

Painted portrait of Peter Rockwell. Image courtesy of the artist, Jimmy Kennedy.

By Jerry Podany and Thomas Roby

Peter Rockwell, a sculptor and the youngest of three sons of artist Norman Rockwell, died at his home in Danvers, Massachusetts on Thursday, February 6, 2020. Although predominantly known as an artist who worked in stone, Peter was also a renowned expert and scholar in the historical techniques of stone sculpting from antiquity to the modern era.

Obituary: Professor Sharon Cather (1947-2019)

Sharon Cather at St Gabriel’s Chapel, Canterbury Cathedral, 1990. Image courtesy of David Park. © Courtauld Institute of Art.

Image: Sharon Cather at St Gabriel’s Chapel, Canterbury Cathedral, 1990. Image courtesy of David Park. © Courtauld Institute of Art.

The IIC is saddened by the death, on 6th June, of IIC Fellow and former Vice President Sharon Cather after a brief illness. The Shelby White and Leon Levy Professor of Conservation Studies at the Courtauld Institute of Art (retired 2018), Sharon served on IIC Council for six years, as Vice President from 2010-2014, and as Chair of the Technical Committee for both the 2010 IIC Istanbul Congress and the 2012 Vienna Congress.

Obituary: Marcel Stefanaggi

Marcel Stefenaggi © LRMH / Dominique Bouchardon

By Dominique De Reyer & Emmanuel Maurin

It is with the deepest regret that we report the death of Marcel Stefanaggi, the news of his death being received on the day after SFIIC’s Annual General Meeting on 11th April 2019.

Having graduated in chemistry and art history, Marcel Stefanaggi was a trailblazer in heritage conservation, recognising the importance of relationships and dialogues between scientific disciplines and the arts and their benefit for cultural heritage conservation.

Obituary: Robert Shepherd

Robert Shepherd (1935-2018). Photo courtesy of Simon Howell, Shepherd Conservation.

By Simon Howell

IIC, with sadness, notes the passing of Robert Shepherd, Fellow of IIC, member of IIC Council and inspirational conservator; here Simon Howell recalls Robert Shepherd's unique career and contribution to the conservation profession.

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