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Celebrating 70 years with Slaughter and May

Submitted by Sharra Grow on

Sir Hilary Scott. Image courtesy of Slaughter and May.

The first meeting of what was to become the Council of IIC took place at the National Gallery in London on 6th June 1950. The business conducted included the election of the first Fellows and the establishment of arrangements for the transfer of funds to and from the United States. In attendance were IIC’s solicitors, Sir Hilary Scott and A.M. Bell, from Slaughter and May, then as now a pre-eminent London firm, founded in 1889.

The Forbes Prize Lecture, 1996 Copenhagen Congress

Submitted by Sharra Grow on

Conservator Anna Rosenqvist treating an animal head post from the Oseberg find. Courtesy of KHM, UiO. License through CC 4.0 BY-SA.

Delivered by Andrew Oddy

This version of the lecture reproduces excerpts of the printed text from IIC Bulletin No. 5, October 1996, pp 1-5 with minor corrections and the addition of illustrations.

Best of 2020

Submitted by Kate Smith on

“Being part of the change is far more interesting than just being carried along by it…”
- Velson Horie FIIC

Unlikely to go down in history as anyone's favourite year, 2020  nevertheless saw conservators reaching out to their communities to offer what help they could - and reacting actively, not passively to the enormous changes that we faced.

Book Review: On Canvas

Submitted by Sharra Grow on

Front and back cover images of On Canvas courtesy of Getty Publications.

Review by Joyce Townsend

On Canvas: Preserving the Structure of Paintings
By Stephen Hackney
The Getty Conservation Institute, 2020
256 pages / $50 Getty Store / £40 Amazon / Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-60606-626-3

Harvard Art Museums Launch Audio Tour Dedicated to the Famed Forbes Pigment Collection

Submitted by Sharra Grow on

Alison Cariens, conservation coordinator at the Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, Harvard Art Museums. Photo: Caitlin Cunningham; © President and Fellows of Harvard College.

The Harvard Art Museums launched “A History of Color: An Audio Tour of the Forbes Pigment Collection,” a digital resource that showcases the stories and science behind some of history’s most fascinating colors, all contained within one of the world’s largest collections of historical pigments. The tool takes viewers on a guided tour of 27 pigments, dyes, and raw materials—from ochres and charcoal, the oldest pigments known to have been used by humans, to YInMn blue, which was discovered by accident at Oregon State University in 2009.

Conservators Combating Climate Change A New Podcast Series by the American Institute for Conservation’s Emerging Conservation Professionals Network

Submitted by Sharra Grow on

Conservators Combating Climate Change can be heard on all major podcasting platforms and at Anchor.fm/conservatorscombatingcc. Image courtesy of the AIC-ECPN. Click the image above to listen.

By Emma Hartman & Natalya Swanson

Conservators Combating Climate Change is a series of transparent conversations featuring preservation professionals who are actively addressing the climate crisis and its threat to cultural heritage. In each episode, hosts Natalya Swanson and Emma Hartman unpack aspects of this complex issue and discuss what sustainability means in regard to conservation-restoration practice.

A Brief Biography of Joyce Plesters

Submitted by Sharra Grow on

Norman Brommelle (d. 1989) a memorable IIC Secretary General, with Joyce Plesters (1927-1996). Take at the 1972 IIC Lisbon Congress. Photograph by Joyce Hill Stoner.

By J.E. Molly Seegers

In our times it is quite rare that an individual would remain at one institution for the entirety of their career. The work that Joyce Plesters accomplished during her tenure at the National Gallery, London proves that extraordinary accomplishments can be achieved within a supportive work place. Her pioneering work laid the foundations for a new field of study: the inspection and analysis of paintings, with a special focus on the materials and techniques of the medium.

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