Obituary: Austin Nevin

Austin Benjamin Nevin: 27 October 1978 – 2 October 2024

On 2 October 2024, the conservation community lost one of its brightest lights, and one that should have shone for decades longer. After a long battle with cancer, Austin Nevin died just short of his 46th birthday.  He maintained his leadership role in the conservation profession until the end and, despite his illness, travelled to Georgia in July to advise on the conservation of Gelati monastery.  Austin was a Fellow of IIC; a Vice President on IIC Council; chaired the Technical Committees for the Edinburgh (2020), Turin (2018), Los Angeles (2016) and Hong Kong (2014) Congresses; and made a significant contribution to the IIC-International Training Centre for Conservation (IIC-ITCC) programme.  Austin’s charm, modesty, constant willingness to volunteer whilst giving the appearance of never being stressed or overworked, and always delivering projects on time made him an excellent person to have on a committee and an invaluable contributor to IIC.  His inquiring mind and drive to make the conservation profession inclusive and international meant that he was widely known and admired around the world, and his loss will be very keenly felt by his many friends and colleagues, although not as much as by his wife Serena and three young daughters.  

Austin was born in Painesville, Ohio, USA with dual British/American nationality.  His outlook was international from a young age and, as well as speaking English as his native language, he also became fluent in French and Italian with a working knowledge of German and Greek.  He read chemistry at Oxford and then studied for the MA in Conservation of Wall Paintings at the Courtauld Institute, London.  He carried out his research for his PhD on fluorescence and Raman spectroscopy for the analysis of protein-based paint media at the Courtauld between October 2004 and June 2008.  Whilst studying for his PhD, he was also a Marie Curie Early Stage Training Fellow at the Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (IESL-FORTH) in Heraklion, Greece.  Austin moved to Milan in 2007.  Following the completion of his PhD, he was an Andrew Mellon Fellow and Coordinator of the Master of the Fogg Pieta Project based at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London.  In 2009 he was appointed Professor at the Accademia de Bella Arti di Brera, Milan, in 2010 became a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Physics, Politecnico di Milano, Italy and in 2011 became a Permanent Researcher at the Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie (IFN) in Milan, part of the Italian Research Council.  In March 2019 Austin and his young family moved to the University of Gothenburg, Sweden as he took on the role of Senior Lecturer in the Department of Conservation.  From September 2020 until the present Austin was Head of Conservation and a Professor at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London. 

In the words of the Courtauld Institute tribute: ‘Austin was a highly valued member of The Courtauld community. An alumnus of The Courtauld, he joined us in 2020 as the Head of our newly unified Conservation Department.  In this role he led the relaunch of its three MA programmes in Easel Painting Conservation, Wall Painting Conservation and Art History and Conservation of Buddhist Heritage; promoted transdisciplinary research on preventative conservation, technical art history, conservation science, and conservation ethics and practice; led several major successful grant applications; and developed the department’s range of expertise.

Austin was an extraordinary and influential scholar who was held in great regard by all he worked with. He co-authored over 100 research papers and collaborated with colleagues across the conservation field, with his publications on spectroscopic analysis being cited by hundreds of other scholars. His research focused on the conservation and analysis of paintings, and on ancient and modern art on walls, easels and on paper. The materials he investigated ranged from Chinese wall paintings to Egyptian Polychromy, and his scholarship encompassed such fascinating subjects as the analysis of red pigments from Leonardo’s The Last Supper and the discovery of ancient egg binders in wall paintings from Tel Kabri….

… Austin achieved so much. His boundless enthusiasm and energy were remarkable, and his warm-hearted and thoughtful character made him a popular and charismatic leader. He remains an inspiration to his friends and colleagues.’

Voula Golfomitsou has written about Austin’s time in Gothenburg where she was also on the teaching staff in the Department of Conservation: ‘He joined the Department of Conservation at the University of Gothenburg and one of his tasks was to coordinate the newly established Masters in Conservation of Paintings.  While in Sweden he got a grant from the National Heritage Board for the project: “Critical Assessment of Wall Painting Conservation in Sweden”. As the project was happening during COVID and it was hard to travel, we set up three panel discussions on street and public art which became the basis for the Symposium we had in May 2024 at MUDEC, Milan, “Public Art Inside Out”.  One of the most remarkable things about Austin was his mentorship to students and young professionals from developing countries. As an editor of Studies in Conservation and as Chair of the Technical Committee of the IIC congresses, and also other publications and conferences, he supported and encouraged non-native English speakers in publishing their work. He really believed in diversifying conservation and valued the different voices. I can say many things about Austin. His generosity as a colleague is something remarkable. He was always a “big picture” person, but he kept everything in mild tones trying to understand all sides.’ 

Austin served on IIC Council from 2012, most recently as one of our Vice-Presidents.  He was on the Editorial Board of Studies in Conservation from 2016 to the present. But arguably his most influential IIC role was chairing the Technical Committee of the IIC congresses in Edinburgh (2020), Turin (2018), Los Angeles (2016) and Hong Kong (2014).  The shaping of the scientific and practical conservation advances promoted through the selection of papers and posters for congresses is fundamental to IIC’s position as the leading conservation organisation in the world, and the Chair of the Technical Committee heads up this process.  Austin’s leadership was exemplary, bringing together Technical Committees with members from across the world and thus increasing the diversity of people involved with IIC.

Austin’s contributions to widening the reach of IIC was also recognised by our colleagues at the Palace Museum in Beijing where Austin shared the moderation of the courses with Sarah Staniforth from 2016 until 2019.

Colleagues at the Palace Museum have written heartfelt words of appreciation.  From Dr Song Jirong, Director of the Conservation Hospital: ‘We were shocked and are deeply saddened by the news of the passing of Professor Austin Nevin, Vice President of the IIC, after a long illness, and we are beyond heartbroken, and deplore the loss of a talent in the field of world heritage. Professor Nevin was a man of many accomplishments, admired for his energy, warmth and thoughtfulness, and a popular friend and scholar. He made a great contribution to the … workshops of the IIC-ITCC. As the Director of the last ITCC Curriculum Academic Committee, he worked meticulously alongside President Sarah Staniforth to design and orchestrate a curriculum that guaranteed the seamless execution of these workshops, underpinned by principles of preventive conservation and rigorous scientific analysis. This collaboration significantly fortified the strong bond between the IIC and the Palace Museum. His departure is a loss to the conservation field of world cultural heritage, as well as a loss to us!’ 

From Dr Wang Xudong, Director: ‘We are deeply shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of Professor Austin Nevin.  The Palace Museum, along with the heritage conservation community in China, mourns the loss of a passionate scientist, a professor dedicated to academic research and the education of cultural heritage conservation, and a close partner who maintained a long-standing friendship and cooperation with China.  With utmost sincerity, we extend our heartfelt condolences. We firmly believe that Professor Austin’s outstanding achievements in the field of heritage conservation and his inspiring passionate personality will continue to encourage and benefit his friends and successors. His legacy will guide future collaborations in international cultural heritage conservation, and the contributions he made will forever stand as an enduring monument to international cooperation in this field.’

It is hard to better these words as a tribute to all that Austin achieved in his short life. We can speculate on what might have happened had he been with us for another twenty or thirty years of working life, but we must recognise that his work will live on through the students he has taught, the researchers he has collaborated with, the emerging conservators he has inspired, all the people who will read the articles he has written over the past quarter century and the friends whose lives he enriched.  We must celebrate what he has left behind as well as mourn what has gone.

Sarah Staniforth with contributions from colleagues at IIC and the Courtauld Institute of Art, Voula Golfomitsou, Dr Wang Xudong and Dr Song Jirong.

21 October 2024