Past Meetings

2022-2023 Season

Eight people talk and enjoy food and drinks in an ornately painted room with faux columns. Ancient-Egyptian-style hieroglyphs and modern symbols mix as decoration on the walls
WCG members mingle before the annual business meeting and raffle, May 2023

September 1, 2022: Social meet and greet

Location: Shake Shack at Union Station

October 6, 2022: Johns Hopkins University Libraries

Location: Evergreen Museum and Library

November 3, 2022: The Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) Archaeology & Conservation Laboratory

  • Kate Morrand, Director, NHHC Conservation, Research and Archaeology Laboratory (CORAL)
  • Shanna Daniel, Lead Archaeological Conservator, NHHC

Virtual Meeting

December 7, 2022: Holiday Lecture, “Food for Thought: Building a New Smithsonian Museum”

Lisa Sasaki, Interim Director of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum (SAWHM)

Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center

January 12, 2023: Three-Ring Circus

Ring 1: What’s Old is New

Ring 2: Facing Monumental Tasks

Ring 3: Making Connections

Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center

February 2, 2023: Black Art Conservators panel discussion

  • Valinda Carroll, Paper Conservator, Private Practice
  • Anya Dani, Objects Conservator & Director of Community Engagement and Inclusive Practice & Lecturer, UCLA/Getty Interdepartmental Program in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage
  • Nyla Byrd, Book Fellow, The Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts (CCAHA)
  • Ariana Makau, President & Principal Conservator, Nzilani Glass Conservation

Virtual Meeting

March 2, 2023: Emerging Professionals Talks

Location: The Kreeger Museum

April 6, 2023: Joint meeting with AIHA Potomac Section: “The Safety and Cultural Heritage Summit: A Conversation on Its Impact and Future

  • Anne Marigza, WCG Liaison to the Safety and Cultural Heritage Summit & Member of the AIHA Museum and Cultural Heritage Industry Working Group
  • Kathy Makos, Secretary for the AIHA Potomac Local Section & Officer of the AIHA Museum and Cultural Heritage Industry Working Group

Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum

May 10, 2023: Raffle and Business Meeting and Raffle

Location: The Naval Lodge Hall, SE Washington DC

2021-2022 Season

2021 Lunch Time lab tour series
2021 lunch time lab tour series for emerging professionals

September 2, 2021: Annual Meet-and-Greet, Virtual Trivia

October 7, 2021: “Preserving a National Shrine: Conservation at Arlington National Cemetery & Centennial of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier”

Caitlin Smith, Conservation Program Manager, Arlington National Cemetery

Location: Virtual Meeting

November 4, 2021: “Unionization at the Walters Art Museum with Walters Workers United members”

  • Gregory Bailey, Senior Objects Conservator
  • Karen French, Senior Paintings Conservator
  • Will Hays, Assistant Registrar
  • Sam Mera-Candedo, Exhibition Designer

Location: Virtual Meeting

December 2, 2021: “Reawakening the National Mall’s “Sleeping Beauty” – a look inside the Smithsonian’s Arts + Industries Building”

Rachel Goslins, Director of the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building

Location: Virtual Meeting

January 6 2022: “Three-Ring, Night 1, Conservation in Practice”

Location: Virtual Meeting

January 13, 2022: “Three-Ring, Night 2, Technical Imaging and Scientific Research”

Location: Virtual Meeting

January 20, 2022: “Three-Ring, Night 3, The Great Beyond”

Location: Virtual Meeting

February 3, 2022: “Preserving Indigenous Culture through 3-D Technologies”

  • Eric Hollinger, Repatriation Tribal Liaison, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
  • Chris Hollshwander, Model Maker, Smithsonian Institution Exhibits
  • Vince Rossi, 3D Program Supervisor, Smithsonian Digitization Program Office
  • Carolyn Thome, Exhibits Specialist, Digital Model Maker, Smithsonian Institution

Location: Virtual Meeting

March 3, 2022: Emerging Professionals

Location: Virtual Meeting

April 7, 2022: Washington Conservation Guild and the Potomac Local Section of the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) joint meeting: “The Benefits to Networking between Regional Conservation Groups and Industrial Hygiene Local Sections”

  • Haddon Dine, Assistant Objects Conservator at the Art Institute of Chicago
  • Jeff Sotek, Senior Associate at Wood Environmental & Infrastructure Solutions

Location: Virtual Meeting

May 4, 2022: “WCG Business Meeting and Raffle”

Location: Dumbarton House, Washington, DC

2020-2021 Season

Virtual meeting room with 7 people on the call.
Virtual Trivia winners, September 2020

September 3, 2020: Annual Meet-and-Greet, Trivia

Location: Virtual Meeting

October 1, 2020: “Preservation of Confederate Monuments in the Era of Black Lives Matter”

  • Katherine Ridgway, State Archeological Conservator at the Virginia Department of Historic Resources
  • Lauranett Lee, Member of Richmond’s Monument Avenue Commission and adjunct faculty at University of Richmond
  • Christina Vida, Elise H. Wright Curator of General Collections at the Valentine Museum
  • Robert Nieweg, Vice President for Preservation Services & Outreach at National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Location: Virtual Meeting

November 5, 2020: “Indian Ink? Chinese Ink Sticks (墨) Reinterpreted in Nineteenth-Century Britain”

Tammy Hong, Andrew W. Mellon Research Assistant at the National Gallery of Art

Additional Content: Post-Lecture Q&A: Indian Ink?

Location: Virtual Meeting

December 3, 2020: “7 minutes and 46 Seconds: Rapid Response and Contemporary Collecting from the Field of National Protests”

Aaron Bryant, Curator of Photography, Visual Culture, and Contemporary History at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of African American History & Culture

Location: Virtual Meeting

January 7, 2021: “Three-Ring, Night 1”

Location: Virtual Meeting

January 13, 2021: “Three-Ring, Night 2”

Location: Virtual Meeting

February 4, 2021: “Collaborative Conservation with Local Indigenous Communities”

  • Ellen Carrlee, Objects Conservator at the Alaska State Museum
  • Nicole Peters, Traveling AK Objects Conservator

Location: Virtual Meeting

March 4, 2021: Emerging Professionals

  • Nylah B. Bird, Graduate Fellow at the Winterthur/ University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, “Watch Point: Rehousing Two Collections of Different Papers”
  • Meredith Sweeney and Karen Wilcox, Engen Fellows, Smithsonian Institution, National Air and Space Museum, “Treating a Taxidermy Flying Mascot at the National Air and Space Museum”
  • Steph Guidera, Graduate Fellow, M.A., C.A.S. candidate, Patricia H. & Richard E. Garman Art Conservation Department, Buffalo State College, “Facing Our Past: Conservation Treatment of a Theatrical Wagon Panel”

Location: Virtual Meeting

April 1, 2021: “Telling Our Own Story: The Threat of Whiteness in Conservation”

  • Jeanelle Austin, George Floyd Memorial Lead Caretaker
  • Acoma Gaither, Midwest Art Conservation Center Racial Justice and Collections Care Fellow

Location: Virtual Meeting

May 6, 2021: “Textiles of Human Tragedies: Preservation Efforts at Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum”

  • Julia M BRENNAN, Caring for Textiles
  • KHO Chenda, CHHEANG Sokpenh, CHEAN Chetrey, PING Sreynoch, and CHOUB Sokly, Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum

Location: Virtual Meeting

2019-2020 Season

A large presenting screen with a crowd sitting in temporary folding chairs. Grand multi-story library in background.
Presentation in the George Peabody Library at Johns Hopkins University

September 5, 2019: Annual Meet-and-Greet

Location: Mr. Henry’s, Capitol Hill

October 3, 2019: “Destination Moon: Multi-departmental Collaboration in Exhibits, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

  • Conservator Lisa Young
  • Project Manager Ashlee Prevette
  • Curator Cathleen Lewis
  • Curator Mike Neufeld

Location: Barbara Kruger Gallery and Ring Auditorium, The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

November 7, 2019: “Conservation and Collections Care at Fallingwater: Over the River and Through the Woods”

  • Connie Stromberg, Conservator in Private Practice
  • Howard Wellman, Conservator in Private Practice
  • Diane Fullick, Conservator in Private Practice

Location: George Peabody Library, Johns Hopkins University

December 5, 2019: “Conservation Efforts of the White House Historical Association”

Dr. Lindsay M. Chervinsky, White House Historian

Location: Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital

January 9, 2020: Three-Ring Circus (nine speakers in three concurrent sessions)

Ring 1: Evolving Approaches

Ring 2: Historic Concerns

Ring 3: Modern Concerns

Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center, Smithsonian Institution

February 6, 2020: “The Use of Gels in Parchment Conservation”

Cathie Magee, Harper-Inglis Fellow in Conservation at the Library of Congress

Location: African American Civil War Memorial Museum

March 5, 2020: Intern Talks

Location: 3M Innovation Center

April 2, 2020: (cancelled)

Tammy Hong, Andrew W. Mellon Research Assistant at the National Gallery of Art

May 7, 2020: Annual Business Meeting

Virtual Meeting

Annual Report 2020

2018-2019 Season

A circle of ten people put their hands with silver ring into the middle
Members’ Ring Making Workshop, March 2019

September 6, 2018: Annual Season Kick-Off

Location: Shake Shack, Union Station

October 4, 2018: Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative

Stacy Bowe, Training Coordinator, Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative

Location: The Belle Vue Room at Dumbarton House

November 1, 2018: Dr. Joyce Hill Stoner, Edward F. and Elizabeth Goodman Rosenberg Professor of Material Culture, University of Delaware: “Degrees of Authenticity”

Location: Osler Hall at MedChi, the Maryland State Medical Society

December 6, 2018: Holiday Party with Dr. David Skorton, 13th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution

Location: Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital

January 10, 2019: Three-Ring Circus (three concurrent sessions)

Ring 1: Artists and Owners: Creation, Use, and Intent

Ring 2: Dealing with Difficult Objects: Emotional, Political, and Treatment Challenges

Ring 3: New Approaches: Treatment and Engagement

Location: Calvary Baptist Church, due to government shutdown

February 7, 2019: Talk Double Header! National Library of Medicine Division AND Cleaning of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial

  • Holly Herro, Senior Conservator
  • Stephen Greenberg, Section Head for Rare Books and Early Manuscripts

and

  • Justine Bello, Architectural Conservator, National Park Service

Location: National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health

March 7, 2019: Intern Talks

  • Haddon Dine, “Investigation of the Polychromy on a Roman Marble Head at The Walters Art Museum”
  • Tamara Dissi, “Reconstructing a Narrative: Treatment of a 1940’s Diorama”
  • Jen Munch, “Adventures in Matte Paint Consolidation: Treatment of ‘Midnight Sun V’ by Francesco Clemente”

Location: National Museum of American Jewish Military History

April 4, 2019: Conservation Tips and Mistakes Session

Location: African American Civil War Memorial Museum

May 2, 2019: Annual Business Meeting and Garden Party

Location: Dumbarton House

2017-2018 Season

Speaker on stage at the Folger Shakespeare Library with President Diana Gallante
David M Rubenstein speaks at the WCG holiday meeting

September 14, 2017: Annual Meet-and-Greet

Location: Shake Shack, Union Station

October 5, 2017: “Design of the USHMM off-site facility”

  • Jane Klinger, Chief Conservator, The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 
  • Michael Zisk, Museum Architect, The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Location: The David and Fela Shapell Family Collections, Conservation and Research Center, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

November 2, 2017: “Criteria for Selecting an Appropriate Light Source for Conservation Activities

  • Steven Weintraub, Principal and Founder of Art Preservation Services

Location: Folger Shakespeare Library

December 7, 2017: Holiday Party, with Mr. David Rubenstein speaking on preservation of cultural heritage through philanthropy

  • Mr. David M. Rubenstein, businessman, philathropist, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Smithsonian Institution, and a Trustee of the National Gallery of Art

Location: Folger Shakespeare Library

January 4, 2018: 3-Ring Circus (three concurrent sessions)

Ring 1: Treatment

Ring 2: Collaborating and Connecting

Ring 3: Collections Emergency Response

Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center, Smithsonian Institution

February 1, 2018: George Washington Masonic National Memorial Tours and Mural preservation

  • Mark Tabbert, Director of Collections at George Washington Masonic National Memorial
  • David Olin, Olin Conservation, Inc.
  • Timothy Winkle, Alexandria-Washington Lodge No.22

Location: George Washington Masonic National Memorial

March 1, 2018: Conservation Highlights from the Arts of Asia Installation at the Walters

  • Stephanie Hulman: “Lessons Learned from the Treatment of Southeast Asian Lacquer”
  • Elisabetta Polidori & Dr. Glenn Gates: “Technical Discoveries on an unusual Indian Miniature”
  • Meg Craft: “Examination and Treatment of a Tibetan Ritual Box and Dagger”

Location: The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore

April 5, 2018: Intern Talks

Location: MacMillan Center, Smithsonian American Art Museum

May 3, 2018: Annual Business Meeting and Raffle

Location: International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Rooftop

2016-2017 Season

September 8, 2016: Annual Meet-and-Greet

Location: Shake Shack, Union Station

October 6, 2016: Mountmaking for Conservation with Consideration for Long-Term Display and Storage

Jen Simons, Founding Partner of Brigid Mountmaking

Location: Artex, Landover, MD

November 3, 2016: “The Face that Launched Ten Thousand Conservation Hours: Investigation & Treatment of the Walters ‘Helen of Troy’ Spalliere Panel Series”

  • Eric Gordon, Head of Painting Conservation
  • Karen French, Senior Conservator
  • Pamela Betts, Associate Conservator

Location: The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore

December 1, 2016: Holiday Party and 50th Anniversary Bash!

Location: The Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital

January 5, 2017: 3-Ring Circus (three concurrent sessions)

Ring 1: Gettens

  • Joyce Hill Stoner, “How Mr. Gettens Changed My Life”
  • David Espinosa, “Artistry and Technology in the Conservation Treatment of the Andrew W. Mellon Memorial Fountain”
  • Amanda Malkin, “The Conservation Treatment of 19th-Century Chinese Kites”

Ring 2: Organ

  • Barbara Berrie and Teresa Duncan, “Gels: What’s Coming Up? What’s Staying Down?”
  • Shannon A. Brogdon-Grantham and Dr. Thomas Lam, “Introduction to Microfadometry Applications”
  • Connie Stromberg, “The Mace in the U.S. House of Representatives Collection: Its Use and Conservation History”

Ring 3: Ripley

Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center

February 2, 2017: “You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby! WCG at 50” Panel Discussion

Location: Folger Shakespeare Library

March 2, 2017: “Conservator and Curator in Partnership”

  • Jia-sun Tsang, Senior Paintings Conservator at the Museum Conservation Institute
  • Tuliza Fleming, Museum Curator at the National Museum of African American History and Culture

Location: National Museum of American History

April 6, 2017: Intern Talks

  • Tamia Anaya, Pre-Program Intern, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden: “Preservation Strategies for a Software-based Art Object”
  • Robert Price, Andrew W. Mellon Fellow, National Gallery of Art: “Conservation Treatment of Paul Manship’s Large Scale Bronze, Dancer and Gazelles at the National Gallery of Art”
  • Caitlin Mahony, Samuel H. Kress Fellow, Walters Art Museum: “To Reveal or Conceal: Ceramic Restorations of the Past and Present”
  • Sophie Barbisan, Postgraduate Fellow, Smithsonian American Art Museum: “Local cleaning of tidelines on paper with agarose: the relevance of pH and conductivity adjustment”

Location: Discovery Center, National Postal Museum

May 4, 2017: Annual Meeting and Raffle

Location: International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)

2015-2016 Season

Two teams sit at tables with blue tablecloths. President Jane Klinger stands at the podium introducing the event.
Star Wars v Star Trek debate

September 3, 2015: Annual Meet-and-Greet

Location: Congressional Cemetery

October 1, 2015: Diane Fullik, “Finding their Place: The History and Conservation of Plaster Casts”

Location: The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA)

November 5, 2015: Jeff Hirsch, William Jarema, Dan Klein, and Roger Rudy of EwingCole, “Studio Design Challenges: Creating a Safe and Practical Space”

Location: US Holocaust Memorial Museum

December 3, 2015: Holiday Party with Corine Wegener, Cultural Heritage Preservation Officer, Smithsonian Institution. “Cultural Heritage in Crisis: Recent Smithsonian Projects”

Location: The Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital

January 7, 2016: 3-Ring Circus (three concurrent sessions)

Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center

Ring #1: Conservators in Social Media

Ring #2: Imaging and Technology

  • Rebecca Summerour, Smithsonian Scholarly Studies Fellow in Conservation, National Museum of African Art: The Technical Analysis of Painted Andean Textiles
  • Caitlin Badowski, Database Administrator, Smithsonian National Postal Museum: Use Your Database!

Ring #3: BIG Conservation

February 4, 2016: Star Trek vs. Star Wars

Location: George Washington University’s Museum Studies Program Space

Team Star Trek:

  • Ariel O’Connor, National Air and Space Museum
  • Beth Richwine, National Museum of American History

Team Star Wars:

  • Mary Coughlin, George Washington University
  • Curtis Bateman, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers

Moderator: Nick Partridge, National Air and Space Museum

Additional Content: Social Media debate

March 3, 2016: Diana Galante, National Museum of American History, and Katherine Ott, Division of Science and Medicine at NMAH, “Preserving Prosthetics”

Location: MedChi, Baltimore

April 7, 2016: Intern Talks

Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum

  • Kaitlyn Wright (Hirshhorn, pre-program Williston) – Blood and Feathers #2 & Flooded McDonald’s: Facing the Challenges of Time-Based Media Preservation
  • Emily Rezes (NMAI, pre-program) – Access and Treatment of a Penobscot Birch Bark Container: Learning from Experience
  • Mariana DiGiacomo (NMAH, Fellow) – Deterioration of Slide Mounting Media: Materials, Priorities and Mitigation
  • Anne Schrandt (SAAM, pre-program) – Adhesive Removal from Paperboard: A Watercolor by Claggett Wilson

May 7, 2016: Annual business meeting and raffle

Location: IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers)

2014-2015 Season

A group of people stand in front of a large table filled with historic documents undergoing treatment
WCG Intern Group Tour of the Library of Congress

September 4, 2014: Happy Hour and Trivia Contest

Location: Mr. Henry’s Victorian Pub

October 2, 2014: Alternatives to the Oddy test presented by Eric Breitung, Senior Scientist from the Library of Congress

Location: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

November 6, 2014: Linda Edquist/Variguard

Location: Smithsonian Postal Museum

Sponsor: Meeting brought to us by VariGuard

December 4, 2014: Holiday Party with Gregg S. Horner, Art Fraud Unit, FBI

Location: Haskell Center, Folger Shakespeare Library

January 8, 2015: 3-Ring Circus (three concurrent sessions)

Ring 1 – Theory and Practice

Ring 2 – Advocacy and Outreach

Ring 3 – Nautical Related – Arggh!

Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center, Smithsonian Institution

February 5, 2015: Diana Gallante, “Nineteenth-Century Cast Iron Jewelry at the Harvard Art Museums”

Location: Northeast Neighborhood Library

March 5, 2015: Diane Fullick

Location: MedChi, The Maryland State Medical Society, Baltimore

April 2, 2015: Intern/Fellow talks

Location: Historic Silver Spring Train Station

May 7, 2015: Annual business meeting and raffle

Location: IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers)

2013-2014 Season

Two people hold up the same platter decorated with a detail portrait of a historic painting
Two happy raffle winners

October 3, 2013: National Academy of Sciences Special Event with Rick Vogt, Michael Kramer, and Lindy Gulick, “A Building Reborn: The Restoration of the National Academy of Sciences”

Location: National Academy of Sciences

November 7, 2013: Terry Drayman-Weisser: “Preserving the Nimrud Ivories in Iraq”

Location: Walters Art Museum, Baltimore

December 5, 2013: Holiday Party with Colette Loll-Marvin: “Intent to Deceive; Fakes and Forgeries in the Art World”

Location: Haskell Center, Folger Shakespeare Library

January 9, 2014: 3-Ring Circus (three concurrent sessions)

Ring 1 – Conservation in Far Flung Places Ring

  • Paul Jett, Emeritus Head and Research Associate, Department of Conservation and Scientific Research, Freer and Sackler Galleries. “Assessing Collections Care at Provincial Museums in Cambodia”
  • Kelly McHugh, Objects Conservator, National Museum of American Indian. “Conservation Exchanges with indigenous communities in the Americas.”
  • Brian Michael Lione, Director, Architectural and Site Conservation Programs, University of Delaware Programs at the Iraqi Institute for the Conservation of Antiquities and Heritage. “Capacity Building and Heritage Conservation Education in Post-War Iraq: The Iraqi Institute for the Conservation of Antiquities and Heritage”

Ring 2 – Analytical Ring

  • Kristi Davenport, Contract Conservator at the NIH/NLM and Laura McNulty, Willman Spawn Conservation Intern at the American Philosophical Society. “Materials and enclosure testing prior to rehousing a Nobel Laureate’s research
  • Mehdi Moini, Research Scientist, Museum Conservation Institute, Smithsonian Institution. “Mechanism of Aging in Museums’ Proteinaceous Specimens”.
  • Eric Breitung, E-Squared Art Conservation Science, Conservation Scientist, Washington, DC in collaboration with the Materials Science and Engineering Department of University of Maryland, College Park. “Novel, long lasting anti-corrosion coatings for silver objects”

Ring 3 – Contemporary Ring

  • Agathe Riquier, Conservator in Contemporary Art – Sculpture and Modern materials, Fellow, Museum Conservation Institute, Smithsonian Institution. “Concepts and Mechanisms of degradation of the Hans Haacke’s Condensation Cube. Study of the first edition displayed at the National Gallery of Canada”
  • Jennifer Hickey, William R. Leisher Fellow, National Gallery of Art. “Presenting Pollock: sharing conservation philosophies and methodologies with a broader audience”
  • Connie Stromberg, Owner, Stromberg Conservation, LLC, Conservation of sculpture, decorative arts and historic objects. “It was a Sticky Situation: Cleaning the privately held edition # 12/75 of the polyurethane resin relief “Chrysler Airflow” by Claes Oldenburg”

Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center, Smithsonian Institution

February 6, 2014: Happy Hour, 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Location: The Hawk n’ Dove

March 6, 2014: Linda Edquist, “Preview of the New Galleries at the Postal Museum”

Location: Postal Museum

April 3, 2014: Washington Conservation Guild Interns

Location: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

May 8, 2014: End of year party, raffle, elections

Location: IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers)

2012-2013 Season

October 4, 2012: Museum Studies Program, The George Washington University

  • “One Year Later: The Impact of the August 2011 Earthquake on The Washington Monument and Washington National Cathedral”
  • “Washington National Cathedral, Earthquake Damage, Stabilization and Repair” by Joe Alonso: Head Mason, The Washington National Cathedral
  • “Seismic Assessment and Repair Design: The Washington Monument” by Erik C. Sohn, PE: Senior Associate – Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc (Consultants on the Washington Monument)

November 1, 2012: Terry Drayman Weisser, “Erbil, Iraq project” (cancelled)

Location: The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore

The November membership meeting was cancelled because of the impact of Hurricane Sandy. The board meeting took place at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

December 6, 2012: Holiday Party and talk: “Application of Forensic Science to the Field of Conservation” by Greg Mokrzycki, Forensic Document Examiner, FBI

Location: Haskell Center, Folger Shakespeare Library

January 10, 2013: 3-Ring Circus (three concurrent sessions)

Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center, Smithsonian Institution

February 7, 2013: Rebecca Fifield, “The Gang’s All Here: Now What? Current Challenges for Collection Care”

Location: Museum Studies Program, The George Washington University

March 7, 2013: Michael Mansfield, Associate Curator, Film and Media Arts

Location: MacMillan Education Center, Smithsonian American Art Museum

April 4, 2013: Intern Talks

Location: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

May 2, 2013: Membership meeting and raffle

Location: Roof deck, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IEBW)

2011-2012 Season

A group of 17 people circle around a table full of snacks on a wood deck. They smile at the camera.
Welcoming the new interns in town, 2011

October 6, 2011: “Conservation Digitization; the Sublime, the Necessary and the Kitchen Sink,” an interactive discussion presented by the The Bron Imaging Group, in association with The Image Collective

Location: US Holocaust Memorial Museum

November 3, 2011:

Location: The Johns Hopkins Archaeological Museum

  • “Conservation in the University Museum: An Introduction to the Johns Hopkins Archaeological Museum” by Sanchita Balachandran: Curator/Conservator, The Johns Hopkins Archaeological Museum
  • “Heritage Science for Conservation: A New Model in Book and Paper Conservation and Science” by Sonja Jordan-Mowery, Joseph Ruzicka and Marie Ruzicka Feldmann Associate Director for Conservation and Preservation, P.I, Heritage Science for Conservation, Johns Hopkins University Sheridan Libraries

December 8, 2011: Holiday Party with Donald Williams, Senior Furniture Conservator at the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum Conservation Institute, “Conservation on $5 a day” (How to use household and dry goods store items to outfit a conservation studio)

Location: National Trust for Historic Preservation

January 5, 2012: 3-Ring Circus (three concurrent sessions)

Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center, Smithsonian Institution

Ring 1:

  • Amber Kerr-Allison, Smithsonian American Art Museum, “The Use of Tablet Computers in Condition Surveys and Examination Documents”
  • Eliza Gilligan, University of Virginia Library, and Lisa Young, National Air and Space Museum, “Is there an App for that? Handy Apps for Smart Phones and Tablets”
  • Jenny Wiley, Heritage Preservation, “The Disaster Wheel Becomes an App”

Ring 2:

  • Odile Madden, Research Scientist, Modern Materials Program, Museum Conservation Institute, “The Age of Plastic”
  • Jia-Sun Tsang, Senior Paintings Conservator, Museum Conservation Institute, HaeMin Park, Paintings Conservation Intern, Museum Conservation Institute, Beth Richwine, Senior Objects Conservator, National Museum of American History Smithsonian Institution, Ann Seeger, Deputy Chair and Curator, National Museum of American History Smithsonian Institution, “Monitoring Acid Vapor in Cellulose Acetate and Cellulose Nitrate with Color Indicators”
  • Mary Coughlin, Assistant Professor and Administrator of the Distance Education Program, The George Washington University, “Julia Child’s Kitchen: Plastics and Preservation”

Ring 3:

  • Nancy Pollak, Conservator of Paintings and Painted Textiles, Art Care Associates, “Treating the Flag of the Formosa Republic: Taking a Tiger by the Tail”
  • Emily Olhoeft Helwig, Paper and Photographic Conservator, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, “Scraps of Evidence: Conservation of the Terezin Scrapbook”
  • Gwen Manthey, Wyeth Foundation Post-Graduate Fellow, Paintings Conservation, The Walters Art Museum, “A Technical Study of the Works by Richard Caton Woodville”

With thanks to exhibitors/sponsors Alexander’s Mobility Services, Bron Imaging, Hirox-USA, Hollinger Metal Edge, Tiffin Metal products, and University Products

February 2, 2012: Jerry A. McCoy, Special Collections Librarian, District of Columbia Public Library, “Disaster Recovery of the Peabody Room at the Georgetown Branch of the District of Columbia Public Library”

Location: Georgetown Branch Public Library

March 8, 2012: Alisha Chipman, Photograph Conservator, National Gallery of Art, “Inexcusable but Appropriate: The Technical Analysis of Hand-painted Tintypes from the Smithsonian National Museum of American History (NMAH) and the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation (WUDPAC) Collections”

Location: The Phillips Collection

April 13, 2012: Intern talks

Location: National Archives

  • Im Chan, Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in Paper Conservation, National Gallery of Art, “A Technical Analysis of Richard Serra’s Screenprints with Paintstik”
  • Claire Walker, Postgraduate Conservation Fellow, Smithsonian American Art Museum, “Improved Cleaning Techniques through Medium Analysis of Paintings by Henry O. Tanner”
  • Brittney Shaked and Gabriella Irving, Pre-program Interns, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, “Film-Based Photographic Materials Project at the USHMM”

May 3, 2012: Annual business meeting and raffle

Location: IEBW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers)

2010-2011 Season

October 7, 2010: “RTI @ MCI: Escaping Flatland Using Computational Imaging” by: Mel Wachowiak, Senior Conservator, and Keats Webb, Imaging Specialist at the Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute (MCI) Museum Support Center

Location: Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute

November 9, 2010: “Rescue, Recover, and Restore: Smithsonian’s Haiti Cultural Recovery Project,” a panel discussion

Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum

With: Richard Kurin, Smithsonian Under Secretary for History, Art, and Culture; Olsen Jean Julien, Project Manager and Haiti’s former Culture Minister; Corine Wagener, President of the U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield; Stephanie Hornbeck, Chief Conservator and Principal, Caryatid Conservation Services, Inc.; Hugh Shockey, Conservator, American Art and National Portrait Gallery’s Lunder Conservation Center; and Michael Bellamy, Smithsonian Director, Office of Engineering, Design, and Construction; with participation from Rachel Goslins, Executive Director, President’s Committee for the Arts and the Humanities; Dr. Diana N’Diaye, Curator and Cultural Heritage Specialist; Steven Mellor, Acting Associate Director for Collections and Facilities, National Museum of African Art (NMAfA); Gail Joice, Museum Collections Manager, National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI); and Eryl Wentworth, Executive Director, American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC).

December 1, 2010: Holiday Party and “Reconstructing the Masters: Historically Accurate Reconstructions of Paintings from Museum Collections” by Brian Baade, Painting Conservator and Kristin deGhetaldi, Painting Conservation Fellow, National Gallery of Art

Location: National Trust for Historic Preservation

January 6, 2011: 3-Ring Circus (three concurrent sessions)

Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center, Smithsonian Institution

Ring 1:

  • Gwynne Ryan, Sculpture Conservator, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, “INCCA-NA: The International Network for the Conservation of Contemporary Art, North America Group”
  • Carey Howlett, Founder of F. Carey Howlett and Associates Inc. Conservation of Historic Furniture and Interiors, “Building Backwards: Forward-thinking Approaches to Conserving and Installing an Aesthetic Movement Room at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts”
  • Lindy Gulick, Assistant Conservator/Project Manager, Conservation Solutions, “The Conservation Treatment of the Thomas Jefferson Monument located on the University of Virginia Grounds”

Ring 2:

  • Beth Richwine, Senior Objects Conservator, National Museum of American History, “The Tale of Two Boxing Gloves: You want This? When?”
  • Ana Alba, William R. Leisher Fellow in Painting Conservation, National Gallery of Art, “Institute of Museum and Library Services funding for Collections”
  • Kate Moomaw, Objects Conservation Fellow, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, “Treatment of Paul Thek’s Fishman (1968-9): A Compensation Technique for Degraded Latex Rubber”

Ring 3:

  • Lisa Young, Objects Conservator, National Air and Space Museum, “Planning to Move the National Spacesuit Collection to the Udvar-Hazy Center”
  • Laura Mina, Stephanie Spence, and Cathleen Zaret, Interns in Textile Conservation at the Museum Conservation Institute, “From Scrunched to Scrumptious: Treatment of an Evening Gown from the National Museum of African American History and Culture”
  • Sunae Park Evens, Senior Costume Conservator at the National Museum of American History and Michelle Harbeson, Graduate Student in Textile Conservation at the University of Rhode Island, “Oscar the Grouch’s Been Reformed with Archival Materials”

With thanks to exhibitors/sponsors University Products, Optium Tru-Vue, Hollinger Metal Edge, Dorfman Museum Figures, Larson Juhl, O’Brien Systems, Borroughs Corp, and Keepsafe Microclimate Systems.

February 3, 2011: “It’s Complicated: Teaching Cultural Heritage in Iraq,” by Lois Price, Director of Conservation for the Winterthur Museum and advisor for the Iraq Cultural Heritage Project, and Jessica Johnson, Program Director for the Collections Conservation and Management Program at the Iraqi Institute for the Conservation of Antiquities and Heritage from May 2009 to January 2011

Location: The Society of the Cincinnati’s Anderson House

March 3, 2011: Intern Talks

Location: National Postal Museum

  • Eve Mayberger, Intern, National Museum of the American Indian, “Treatment of an Oversize Rare Book: Research and Decisions on Rebinding”
  • Christine Klepper and Michelle Harbeson, Interns, National Museum of American History, “The Wheat Gown: An Artifact Study”
  • Kristin deGhetaldi, Fellow in Painting Conservation, National Gallery of Art, “Print or Painting? The Treatment of a penschilderijn by Willem van de Velde the Elder”

April 7, 2011: Sanchita Balachandran, Curator/Conservator, The Johns Hopkins Archaeological Museum, “Preserving the Gods: Early Twentieth Century Debates in the Conservation of South Indian Bronze Icons in the Government Museum, Madras”

Location: The Phillips Collection’s Carriage House Studio

May 5, 2011: Annual Business Meeting and raffle

Location: International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers

2009-2010 Season

October 5, 2009: “Seeing, Experiencing and Preserving: A Dialogue between a Conservator and Lighting Designer” by: Scott Rosenfeld, Exhibits Lighting Designer for the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Steve Weintraub, Objects Conservator, Art Preservation Services, Inc.

Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum/National Portrait Gallery

November 9, 2009: “Washington Conservation Guild Community Involvement: A Review of Recent Outreach and Angels Projects”

Location: Charles Sumner School Museum and Archives

December 3, 2009: Holiday Party and Tips Session

Location: National Trust for Historic Preservation

Food and wine sponsored by Ernie Robertson of Inviseum

January 8, 2010: 3-Ring Circus (three concurrent sessions)

Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center, Smithsonian Institution

Ring 1: Setting Up a Conservation Studio

  • Eliza Gilligan, Conservator for University Library Collections, UVA Libraries, “Starting from Scratch: A Grant Funded
    Scenario”
  • Nora Lockshin, Paper Conservator, Smithsonian Archives, “3 weeks, 3 years, 3 contractors! Building the Smithsonian
    Center for Archives Conservation”

Ring 2: Conservation Advocacy, Outreach, and Global Preservation of Cultural Heritage

  • Eryl Wentworth, Executive Director, AIC and Ruth Seyler, Membership and Meetings Director, AIC, “Preservation Action Team: AIC Outreach and You”
  • Christine Henry, Senior Program Officer, IMLS, “Institute of Museum and Library Services funding for Collections”
  • Debbie Hess Norris, Henry Francis DuPont Chair of Fine Arts, Vice Provost for Graduate and Professional Education and Chair, Art Conservation Department University of Delaware, “Connecting to the World’s Collections: Making the Case for the Conservation and Preservation of our Cultural Heritage, Salzburg Global Seminar 28th Oct – 1st Nov 2009”

Ring 3: Innovations in Treatment, Imaging, and Preservation

  • Amanda Norbutus, Coremans Fellow, Preservation Studies Doctoral Program University of Delaware, “They are worth saving: The meaning and materials of public murals”
  • Hugh Shockey, Objects Conservator, Smithsonian American Art Museum, “Blow it Off: Moving Beyond Compressed Air with Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Snow”

With thanks to exhibitors/sponsors Inviseum, Tru Vue, Archival Art, University Products, Hollinger Metal Edge, and Dorfman Museum Figures.

February 4, 2010: A Panel Discussion on Recent Developments in Glazing

Location: The Phillips Collection

March 4, 2009: Intern talks

Location: National Archives and Records Administration

  • Angela Duckwall, third year intern at the National Museum of the American Indian, “Broadening Perspectives: An intern’s experience with community consultations”
  • Steven Villereal, the Audiovisual Archiving & Preservation Fellow, University of Virginia, “Assessing & Accessing Archival AV Content at the University of Virginia”
  • Anna Friedman, Conservation Fellow at the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, “Relative flexibility of adhesive films from various mixtures of gelatin and Aquazol 50: Preliminary results”

April 1, 2010: Laura Simo, Associate Curator, George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens; Katherine Ridgway, Conservator, George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens, Genevieve Bienosek and Cathleen Zaret, Pre-Program Interns, Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute, “Bringing Them Home: 150 Years of Restoring the Washington Collection”

Location: George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens

May 6, 2010: Annual Business Meeting

Location: Hillwood Museum & Gardens

2008-2009 Season

October 2, 2008: “Collaboration, Outreach, and the Papermill, Contemporary Printmaking and Hand Papermaking”

Gretchen Schermerhorn, Artist and Pyramid Atlantic Director of Artistic

Location: Pyramid Atlantic Art Center

November 6, 2008: Dawn Heller, Paper Conservator in Private Practice and Supplemental Faculty, Winterthur/University of Delaware, The Basics of Image File Management

Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum/National Portrait Gallery

December 4, 2008: Holiday Party and Tips Session

Location: National Trust for Historic Preservation

Food and wine sponsored by Ernie Robertson of Inviseum

January 8, 2009: 3-Ring Circus (three concurrent sessions)

Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center, Smithsonian Institution

Ring 1:

  • Michelle Delaney, National Museum of American History, “The Hillotypes: Early Experiments in Color Photography”
  • Lynne Gilliland and E.D. Rambo, National Museum of American History, “Cleaning House: Conserving and Cleaning the Faith Bradford Doll’s House at NMAH”
  • Jia-sun Tsang, Museum Conservation Institute, “A Bug Story: Journey from Plastics to Music Recordings”

Ring 2:

  • Cathy Zaret, pre-program intern, National Museum of African American History and Culture, “Re-housing the Black Fashion Museum Collection for the National Museum of African American History and Culture”
  • Michele Pagan, private practice, “Minimally Intrusive Upholstery Treatment for a Diamond Tufted Victorian Chair”
  • Elizabeth Shuster, 3rd year intern, Museum Conservation Institute, “Gently Vacuumed”

Ring 3:

  • Justine Posluszny Bello, Conservation Solutions, Inc., “The Monumental Night Doors at the US Department of Justice: Conservation of Decorative Aluminum in the Federal Triangle”
  • Carol Grissom, Museum Conservation Institute, “Examining Potential Acquisitions for the Smithsonian’s New National Museum of African American History and Culture: Slave Shackles; a Charleston Slave Badge; a Madam C. J. Walker Pin”
  • Howard Wellman, private practice, “Conservation Concerns for Historic Cemeteries”

With thanks to exhibitors/sponsors Hollinger Metal Edge, University Products, Inviseum, Bessant Studio, Testfabrics, Inc., and AIC.

February 5, 2009: John Lippert, Foreground Conservation and Decorative Arts LLC and Evergreene Painting Studios, The Music Room Ceiling at Dumbarton Oaks: Integrating Recreated Artwork into a Conservation Project

Location: Dumbarton Oaks

March 5, 2009: Intern talks

Location: National Archives and Records Administration

  • Simona Cristanetti, Mellon Fellow in Objects Conservation, National Gallery of Art, “A Riddle in High Relief”
  • Danielle Fraser, Pulitzer Conservation Fellow, Emily Rainwater, Harper-Inglis Conservation Fellow, Library of Congress, “Mending Meggendorfer’s Movable Mule, or a Case Study in Conservation Decision Making and Treatment
  • Katrina Bartlett, Paintings Conservation Intern, National Gallery of Art, “A Closer Look at the Materials and Techniques of Eugene Boudin”

April 2, 2009: Sarah S. Brophy, LEED-AP, Early Intelligence from the Green Collections Care and Archives Management Front

Location: Case[werks]

Refreshments sponsored by Case[werks] and Inviseum

May 7, 2009: Annual Business Meeting

Location: Hillwood Museum & Gardens

2007-2008 Season

October 4, 2007: Debbie Hess Norris, Chairperson, Art Conservation Department, University of Delaware, Emergencies, Public Advocacy, and Fund Raising for Collections Care; Responding to the Heritage Health Index Eight Days a Week

Location: Smithsonian Institution Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture (Smithsonian American Art Museum/National Portrait Gallery)

November 1, 2007: Terry Drayman-Weisser, Director of Conservation and Technical Research, The Walters Art Museum

Location: Smithsonian National Postal Museum

December 7, 2007: 40th Birthday Party and panel discussion with past presidents and officers

Location: National Trust for Historic Preservation

  • Nikki Goodman, who began her career at the Smithsonian Conservation Analytical Laboratory, now Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute)
  • Ed McManus, former Head of Conservation at Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum)
  • Eleanor McMillan, former manager in the Conservation Analytical Laboratory
  • Arthur Page, president of Page Conservation, Inc.
  • Tom Chase, president of Chase Art Conservation

January 3, 2008: 3-Ring Circus (three concurrent sessions)

Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center, Smithsonian Institution

Textiles/Paper:

  • Richard Barden, Preservation Services, NMAH, “7000 Uniforms, $600,000, 5 Contractors, 4 Years, 3 Grants, 2 Divisions, and a large Military Uniform Rehousing Project”
  • Nora Lockshin, SI Archives & Rosemary Fallon, Lunder Conservation Center, SAAM/NPG, “Which cracked first: the Inkin or the Egg? Analysis and Treatment of Ink Deterioration in the William Bache Silhouette Album”
  • Catalina Hernandez, NMAI, “The Uses of Surgical Fabrics in Textile Conservation”

Objects:

  • Nina Owczarek, NMAFA:”Skin-Covered Masks from the Cross River Region of Nigeria and Cameroon”
  • Connie Stromberg, Stromberg Conservation LLC, & Diane Fullick, Fullick Conservation, LLC, “Lichen or Not: Conservation of a Privately-Owned Sarcophagus Destined for Outdoor Display”
  • Jia-sun Tsang, MCI- “Early Detection of Cellulose Acetate Objects Degradation”

Paintings:

  • Katherine Moog, Page Conservation- “Saving Face: The Conservation of Ravishankar Ravel s Portrait of Ramdas Mehta”
  • Amber Kerr, Lunder Conservation Center, SAAM/NPG- “Public Murals: Materials, Advocacy and Conservation”

February 7, 2008: Jack Mawhinney, Senior Engineer, Hughes Associates, Inc., Baltimore, MD, spoke on the subject of selecting fire suppression technologies for heritage properties

Location: International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers

March 6, 2008: Intern talks

Location: Charles Sumner School

  • Tonia Grafakos, Book Conservation Intern, and Kaori Uchida, Paper Conservation Intern, Library of Congress, Repair Techniques for Japanese Books: A Collaborative Effort Between Book and Paper Conservation
  • Steve Pickman, Neukom Family Foundation Intern, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, The Hidden Life of Everyday Objects: From a Toy Chair to Silverware

April 3, 2008: Elizabeth Steele, Head of Conservation at The Phillips Collection, Conservator’s Perspective, Edgar Degas’ “Dancers at the Bar”

Location: The Phillips Collection

May 1, 2008: Annual Business Meeting plus a tour of Hillwood

Location: Hillwood Museum & Gardens

2006-2007 Season

Approximately forty smiling people posed as a group
WCG members at the 40th Anniversary Party

October 2006: Reception and site tours by Catherine Dewey, National Park Service, and Patrick Crowley, Historic Congressional Cemetery

Location: Historic Congressional Cemetery

November 2006: Conservation on the Hill 2004-2006

Location: U.S. Capitol

  • William Lewin and Davida Kovner, Treatment and Analytical Findings for Eight Frames in the Rotunda
  • Bruce Schuettinger, Sixteen Benches from the House Chambers

December 2006: Annual Holiday Party, plus talk: Kristen Overbeck Laise, Heritage Preservation, “A Public Trust at Risk: Results of the Heritage Health Index”

Location: National Trust for Historic Preservation

January 2007: 3-Ring Circus (three concurrent sessions)

Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center, Smithsonian Institution

Objects Session:

  • Cynthia Silva, Assistant Conservator, Conservation Solutions, Inc., “The Façade Sculptures of the New York Public Library: 95 Years with Truth, Beauty, Art and Life.”
  • Paul Daniel, conservator in private practice, “A Perfect Fit: Secure and Discreet Object Mounts.”
  • William Zinn, Assistant Conservator, Conservation Solutions, Inc., “The Armorial Gasolier: Investigation of an 1857 Cornelius & Baker Lighting Fixture from the Senate Corridor of the US Capitol”

Paper Session:

  • Manda Kowalczyk, National Postal Museum, “The Benjamin K. Miller Collection: A Batch Treatment on Philatelic Album Pages”
  • Jana Dambrogio, NARA, The Treatment and Facsimile Fabrication of the US Treaty with Algeria, 1795

Paintings and Textiles Session:

  • Anne Ennes, Associate Conservator, The Textile Museum, “A Fortnight in Turkmenistan.”
  • Joanne Klaar, William R. Leisher Fellow in Modern and Contemporary Painting Conservation, The National Gallery of Art, “Triumphs of Apollonio di Giovanni: An Investigation of a Cassone Panel at the National Galleries of Scotland.”
  • Anne-Marei Hacke, Postgraduate Fellow at the Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute, “Studies on the Identification and Degradation of Mordanted and Weighted Textiles.”

February 2007: Margaret McLean, U.S. Dept. of State, “Heritage Conservation as Public Diplomacy: The Role of the Dept. of State in Protecting Archaeological and Ethnological Heritage Around the World”

Location: NOAA Science Center Auditorium

March 2007: Intern Talks, hosted by the Arlington Arts Center’s Bridges to Contemporary Arts Program

Location: Arlington Arts Center

  • Amy Creech, Alexandria Conservation Ltd., “Non-destructive Analysis of Northeastern American Copper Alloy Artifacts Using LA-ICP-MS”
  • Rachel Penniman, Walters Art Museum, “Revealing Lady Columbia: The use of digital reconstruction in the examination and preservation of Folk Art at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation”
  • Samantha Sheesley, Smithsonian American Art Museum, “The de-installation, repair and storage of Vortices and Reveries: Challenges presented by oversized three-dimensional paper objects”

April 2007: Catherine Williams, Silver Lining Art Conservation, Austin, TX, “The Recovery of Cultural Heritage in Mississippi Post Hurricane Katrina, Sept 2005 to Dec 2006”

Location: Banneker-Douglass Museum, Annapolis, MD

May 2007: Business meeting & Benefit Raffle to raise money for Georgetown Public Library disaster recovery

Location: Hillwood Museum & Gardens

2005-2006 Season

October 2005: Dr. Cynthia Field, Chair, Architectural History and Historic Preservation, Smithsonian Institution, “Restoring Damaged Landmarks: A Nineteenth Century Approach”

Location: Charles Sumner School Museum

November 2005: Preservation of the Tiffany Windows at the Arlington Arts Center

Location: Arlington Arts Center

December 2005: Jerry Shiner, Director of Sales and Marketing, Microclimate Technologies International Inc./Keepsafe Systems, “Microclimate Environmental Control”

Location: National Trust for Historic Preservation

January 2006: 3-Ring Circus (three concurrent sessions)

Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center, Smithsonian Institution

Paper Session:

  • Out of the Ashes: a Holocaust Diary Revealed, Emily Klayman Jacobson, Paper and Photographic Materials Conservator, US Holocaust Memorial Museum
  • Creation and Function of the National Park Service (NPS) National Capital Region (NCR) Museum Emergency Response Team (MERT), Theresa Voellinger Shockey, NPS Paper Conservator, Harpers Ferry Center, WV
  • The Mold Was as High as an Elephant’s Eye: NARA Conservators Oversee Record Retrieval for Salvage in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, Hilary Kaplan and Kathy Ludwig, NARA, College Park, MD

Paintings session:

  • Guidelines for the Care of East Asian Paintings: Display and Storage, Andrew Hare, Supervising Conservator of East Asian Painting, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
  • The Uncertain Attribution of a Small Oil Sketch in the Phillips Collection, Patricia Favero, Conservation Fellow, Phillips Collection

Objects session:

  • Nomads’ Land: Archaeological Conservation in Northern Mongolia, Rae Beaubien, Senior Objects Conservator, Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education
  • Bronze Conservation at the National Museum of Cambodia, Paul Jett, Head of Conservation and Scientific Research, Freer-Sackler Gallery of Art
  • Recent Discoveries in Xi’an, China, Yang Junchang, Forbes Research Fellow at Freer-Sackler Gallery of Art

February 2006: “Goats, Dogs, and Blankets: History and Analysis of Coast Salish Fibers”, Anne Murray, Andrew W. Mellon Fellow, National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution

Location: Folger Shakespeare Library

March 2006: Intern Talks

Location: U.S. Navy Museum

April 2006: “Breaking Ground for Bhutan’s Textile Heritage: Anoxic Storage and Monastic Training”, Julia Brennan, Textile Services, Washington, DC

Location: Textile Museum

May 2006: Annual Business Meeting and raffle

Location: Hillwood Museum and Gardens

2004-2005 Season

October 2004: “Conservation on the Hill: From Painted Murals to Gilded Frames, Recent and Ongoing Conservation Projects at the US Capitol”

  • Barbara Wolanin, Curator and Architect of the Capitol
  • Christiana Cunningham-Adams and George Adams, Fine Arts Painting Conservation
  • Barbara A. Ramsay, Director of Conservation Services, ARTEX Fine Art Services
  • Bill Lewin, William A. Lewin, Conservator, LLC

Location: US Capitol

November 2004: “American Fancy: The Exuberance in the Arts 1790-1840”, Sumpter Priddy

Location: Folger Shakespeare Library

December 2004: “An Overview of Digital Photography for Conservators”

  • Steven Puglia, National Archives and Records Administration
  • Jason Young, Vice President of Information Technology at Ameridream
  • Jerry Smith, freelance photographer and Penn Camera Professional Sales Associate

January 2005: 3-Ring Circus (three concurrent sessions)

Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center, Smithsonian Institution

Book, paper, and photo session:

  • Brenda Bernier, Senior Photograph Conservator, National Archives, “The Nature of Gelatin Silver Prints during Treatment and Tips”
  • Renate Mesmer, Assistant Head Conservator, Folger Shakespeare Library, “The Halliwell-Phillipps Album Collection- Artistic Records of the Life of Shakespeare: A Preservation Solution?”
  • Jayne Holt, Paper Conservator, Private Practice, “Failure is Impossible: The Cartoons of Nina Allender”
  • Susan Peckham, Paper Conservator, National Archives, “Tips: Demonstrating a Dot Application of Rhoplex N580”

Paintings session:

  • Cathy Metzger, Senior Painting Conservator, National Gallery of Art, “Prayers and Portraits; Research for an Exhibition”
  • Joanna Dunn, Assistant Painting Conservator, National Gallery of Art, “Zooming in on Zoffany: The Treatment of the Lavie Children and the Search for Their Father”

Objects session:

  • Sara Rivers, Curator of Federal Collections, Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum, “‘Demolition by Neglect’Applies to Artifacts, Too: Planning to Conserve Collections at Historic St. Mary’s City”
  • Beth Richwine, Object Conservator, National Museum of American History, “The Mystery of Wrinkle Finishes”
  • Patty Miller, Conservator, Conservation Solutions, Inc., “One Giant Leap: Saving the Saturn V Rocket, Johnson Space Center”

February 2005: Tour and discussions of ongoing projects in the conservation laboratories at the Baltimore Museum of Art

Location: Baltimore Museum of Art

  • Ann Boulton, “Matisse Sculpture Techniques”
  • Thomas Primeau, “The Collecting and Conservation of Old Master Prints at the Baltimore Museum of Art”
  • Lauren Ross, “Case Studies on the Framing of American Modern Paintings”
  • Kimberly Schenck, “The George Lucas Collection: A Resource for the Study of 19th Century French Art”

March 2005: Intern Talks

Location: National Archives

  • Francoise Richard, Third year intern at the Library of Congress, “Same old cellulose acetate delamination & a mystery laminate: an historical review of lamination at the Library of Congress & the conservation treatment of two laminated documents”
  • Heather Smith, Postgraduate intern at the Walters Art Museum, “Behold the Man: the examination and treatment of a 16th century Italian panel painting at the Walters Art Museum”
  • Lauren Streusand, Third year intern at The National Archives, “Creating an Online Portfolio: Strategies and Challenges”
  • Katherine Beaty, Third year intern at the Library of Congress, “21st century remedies to 19th century repairs of an 18th century Turkish Koran: materials analysis, treatment, and optimal housing”

April 2005: “The Curious Art of Hidden Fore-Edge Painting”, Martin Frost

Location: Hillwood Museum and Gardens

May 2005: Annual Business meeting; presentation by Susan Heald, NMAI Textile Conservator, Kelly McHugh, NMAI conservator, and Jessica Johnson, NMAI Objects Conservator, “X-treme Installation in Hard Hats and Steel Toed Shoes: NMAI’s Inaugural Exhibitions”

Location: National Museum of the American Indian

2003-2004 Season

October 2003: “My Life in Conservation”, Virginia Greene, University of Pennsylvania Museum

Location: Library of Congress

November 2003: “The Barnes Foundation: The Conservation History of a 20th Century Institution”, Barbara Buckley, The Barnes Foundation

Location: Decatur House

December 2003: “The Art of Islamic Calligraphy”, Mohamed Zakariya

Location: National Trust for Historic Preservation

January 2004: 3-Ring Circus (three concurrent sessions)

Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center, Smithsonian Institution

  • “Disaster Recovery at Jamestown National Historic Site”, Brigid Sullivan, Northeast Regional Conservation Center
  • “Search & Identify (Destroy, Optional): Portable FTIR Demonstration”, Nora Lockshin, Smithsonian Center for Archives Conservation, and Greta Hansen, National Museum of Natural History
  • “Gentle Vacuuming: Widely Said, Rarely Measured”, Mary Ballard, Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education
  • “Whistler’s Karat: Restoring Whistler Frames at the Freer”, Bill Lewin
  • “Tristimulus Colorimetry: A Defense Strategy for Loans and Exhibitions”, Michele Austin Dennehy, Mary Ballard, and Jakki Godfrey
  • “The Sculpture Program at the Justice Building: Design and Conservation”, Virginia Naude, Norton Art Conservation, Inc., and Constance Stromberg, Sculpture and Objects Conservator
  • “Toward a Treatment Protocol for Waterlogged Tortoiseshell”, Emily Williams, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
  • “What WERE We Thinking???: Update on the Vermont Painted Theater Curtains”, Michele Pagan, Textile Conservator
  • “Appropriate Support Characteristics for the Lining of Paintings”, Sean Habgood, Conservation Solutions, Inc.
  • “Michele Coltellini: A Work in Progress”, Gillian Cook, Walters Art Museum
  • “Art-Care: Linking Professionals Online”, Judith Watkins Tartt, Paintings Conservator

February 2004: Intern Talks

Location: National Museum of Women in the Arts

  • “Testing Portable X-ray Fluorescence Spectrum Analyzer Applications on a Reverse Painting on Glass”, Sarah Pinchin, Painting Conservation Fellow, Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education
  • “Renaissance Curios: The Examination of Four Wax Objects at the Walters”, Megan Emery, Objects Conservation Intern, Walters Art Museum
  • “A Late 17th-century Portable Sundial: Its History and Conservation”, Susan Costello, Objects Conservation Intern, Walters Art Museum

March 2004: “The Rescue of the Iraqi Jewish Archive in Baghdad”, Doris Hamburg, Director of Preservation Programs at the National Archives and Records Administration

Location: National Archives

April 2004: Spoof Talks and Wine Tasting

Location: Baltimore Museum of Art

May 2004: Annual Business Meeting and Raffle

Location: Hillwood Museum and Gardens

2002-2003 Season

October 2002: “Biological Hazards, Emergency Response and Cultural Property”, Andrew Robb, Library of Congress

November 2002: “Collection Conservation Packing and Storage”, Eric Mutkus, Zotefoams, Inc., and Rick Yamada, ELY, Inc.

Location: Kiplinger Washington

December 2002: Holiday Wine Party

Location: National Trust for Historic Preservation

January 2003: 3-Ring Circus (three concurrent sessions)

Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center, Smithsonian Institution

  • “Planning and Supervising a Monumental Move: Relocating a Massive Picasso/Nesjar Concrete Sculpture”, John Scott, Conservator of Art
  • “X-radiography as a Tool for Assessing Large Archaeological Collections”, Howard Wellman, Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory
  • “Archaeological Implications of Mineral Paint Stability in Mimbres Ceramics”, Landis Smith, Objects Conservator
  • “Research and Treatment of a 20th Century Private Press Book made with Cellulose Acetate Covers”, Nora Lockshin, Book and Paper Conservator
  • “Conservation Applications of Solid-phase Microextraction”, Mark Ormsby, National Archives
  • “Introducing the Adjustable Book ‘Sling-Cradle’ for Rare Book Conservation and Digital Archiving”, Charles Bessant, Bessant Studio
  • “Demonstration of the ‘Cool Tool’: Zephyrtronics Air Pencil”, Lynne Gilliland, National Museum of American History
  • “Conservation of Painted Theater Curtains: A Collaborative Effort”, Michele Pagan, Textile Conservator
  • “Documentation of the Travis Panorama: Collaboration, Collaboration and Collaboration”, Jia-sun Tsang, Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education, and Beth Richwine, National Museum of American History
  • “Understanding Flag Conservation”, Fonda Ghiardi Thomsen, Textile Preservation Associates, Inc.

February 2003: Intern Talks

Location: Goethe Institut

  • “Not Joust Another Tasset: South German Thigh Armor from the Walters Art Museum”, Sarah Barack, student, Conservation Center, New York University, and Batyah Shtrum, fellow, Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation
  • “A Technical Examination of a Painting by Nicolaes Maes”, Joanna Dunn, student, Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation

March 2003: Video: “Florence Flood: The Restoration of Books, 1968”; Eleanor McMillan and Norvell Jones

Location: National Archives

April 2003: April Fools Talks

Location: Woodrow Wilson House

  • ‘Industrial Shrink Wrap Technology in the Preservation of Macroartifacts”, Jeff Kimball, U.S. Army Center for Military History
  • “Make it Flat, Make it Shine, and Make it Fit the frame: A Case Study of Restoration Methods from the F.D. Kalley Collection”, Clarke Bedford, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
  • “Healing the Whole Object: Alternate Conservation for the New Age”, Landis Smith, Private Practice

May 2003: Annual Business Meeting and Raffle

Location: National Postal Museum

2001-2002 Season

October 2001: “Looking at Andrea Mantegna’s Engravings from a Technical Perspective”, Shelley Fletcher, National Gallery of Art

Location: National Postal Museum

November 2001:

Location: Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory

  • Composites: The Acorn in Long-Term Storage, Maret Warner, Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory
  • Conservation of Navy Cannons for Outdoor Display, Jannicke Langfeldt, Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory

December 2001:

Location: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

  • “Tear Repair Workshop”, Quentin Rankin, Paintings Conservator
  • “Sir Joshua Reynolds, Lady Stanhope as Contemplation (ca. 1765)”, Erica James, Painting Conservator

January 2002: 3-Ring Circus (three concurrent sessions)

Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center, Smithsonian Institution

  • “The Removal of an Oil-based Paint Film from a Paper Artifact Using a Solvent Gel”, Theresa Shockey, National Park Service
  • “Fulbright Grant in Egypt- Various Conservation Activities”, Hanna Szczepanowska, Maryland State Archives
  • “Infrared Measurements of the Gelatin Content of Historic Papers”, Mark Ormsby, National Archives
  • “Meeting Somewhere Near the Middle: Treatment of Paint and Textile in an Early Civil War Flag”, Nancy R. Pollak, Art Care Associates
  • “Saving America’s Treasures: Threatened Artifacts from the Apollo Era”, Lisa A. Young, National Air and Space Museum
  • “Investigation and Installation: The Study of Byzantine Ceramic Tiles at the Walters Art Gallery”, Julie Lauffenburger, The Walters Art” Gallery
  • “The World’s Oldest Long-Span Suspension Bridge”, Martha Goodway, Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education
  • “Recent Discoveries of Roman Paintings in Alexandria, Egypt”, Mervat Seif El Din, Roman-Greek Museum, Alexandria, Egypt

February 2002: Intern Talks

Location: Phillips Collection

March 2002: “Silversmithing”, Martha Hopkins

Location: National Museum of Women in the Arts

April 2002: “Examination, Conservation and Analysis of a Gilded Egyptian Bronze Osiris”, David A. Scott, Getty Conservation Institute

Location: Freer Gallery of Art

May 2002: Annual Business Meeting and Raffle

Location: National Trust for Historic Preservation

2000-2001 Season

October 2000: “A Concrete Vision: Oshogbo Art in the 1960s”, Stephanie Hornbeck, National Museum of African Art

Location: Cultural Resources Center, National Museum of the American Indian

November 2000: “Tools for Safer Solvent Use”, Mark Ormsby, National Archives

Location: National Archives

December 2000: “The Challenges of Conserving the Big Piece from the RMS Titanic”, Joseph Sembrat, Conservation Solutions, Inc.

Location: National Trust for Historic Preservation

January 2001: 3-Ring Circus (three concurrent sessions)

Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center, Smithsonian Institution

  • “The Last of the Buffalo Revisited”, Dare Myers Hartwell, Corcoran Gallery of Art
  • “Exhibition Looks at the Materials, Methods, and Makers of Santos”, Jia-sun Tsang, Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education
  • “Recent Research Results in the Study of Drying Oils both in Short and Long Term”, Marion Mecklenburg, Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education
  • “Removal of Stains Caused by Mercuric Chloride Treatments from Herbarium Sheet Labels”, Catharine Hawks, Private Conservator and Deborah Bell, Collection Manager, Department of Botany, National Museum of Natural History
  • “The National Anthropology Archives Artwork Project”, Jayne Girod Holt, Paper Conservator, and Tara Kennedy
  • “Philadelphia Bronze: Conservation of Public Art”, T. Scott Kreilick, Conservator and Metallurgist
  • “The Effect of Heat on Nephrite and Chinese Jade”, Janet G. Douglas, Freer/Sackler Galleries
  • “Raising H.L. Hunley, A Civil War Submarine”, Claire Peachey, Naval Historical Center

February 2001: Intern talks

Location: Visionary Arts Museum, Baltimore

  • “Exhibit Gumbo: Stewing over Exhibit Ingredients”, Jenifer Bosworth, Getty Fellow in Exhibit Conservation, National Park Service
  • “Treasure, Technology, Teamwork: The Challenges of Surveying the Rosenwald Collection at the Library of Congress”, Beatriz Haspo, Preventive Conservation Intern, Library of Congress

March 2001: “Maintenance of Outdoor Sculpture in the National Gallery Sculpture Garden”, Katherine May and Sheila Payaqui, National Gallery of Art

Location: National Museum of Women in the Arts

April 2001:

Location: U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

May 2001: Annual Business Meeting and Raffle

Location: Woodrow Wilson House

1999-2000 Season

October 1999: “Exhibit Conservation: A Practical Set of Guidelines”, Toby Raphael, National Park Service, and Kevin Brookes, Nash Brookes, Inc.

Location: National Archives

November 1999: “After Conservation in Situ! A Visit with the Native American Murals at the South Penthouse”, Interior Museum, David Olin, Olin Conservation , Inc.

Location: Interior Museum

December 1999:

Location: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

January 2000: 3-Ring Circus (three concurrent sessions)

Location: S. Dillon Ripley Center, Smithsonian Institution

February 2000: “19th Century Photograph Albums; Emergency Preparedness; and Details of Treatment: George Washington’s First Inaugural Address”, Mark Roosa, Mary Wootton, Ann Seibert, and Heather Wanser, Library of Congress

Location: Library of Congress

March 2000: “Women’s Work: The Construction and Conservation of Flags”, Beth Miller, Star-Spangled Banner Flag Museum, and Suzanne Thomassen-Krauss, National Museum of American History.

Location: National Museum of Women in the Arts

April 2000: Intern Talks

Location: Phillips Collection

  • “Treatment of a Painting by Gifford Beal”, Gillian Cook, Phillips Collection intern;
  • “The Map of the Great Hardenbergh Patent”, Simona Christanetti, Winterthur Museum intern;
  • “The Immaculate Conception”, Gwendolyn Fife, Walters Art Gallery intern

May 2000: Annual Business Meeting

Location: National Postal Museum