Public Service
Regional and National Public Service
The Department of Art Conservation has a long history of public outreach. Most recently, our ten, first-year fellows and some second-year fellows, pre-program interns and faculty members worked with Professor Debra Hess Norris to examine, stabilize, clean, flatten, and rehouse 300 fire-damaged photographic prints miraculously recovered from a tragic Christmas Day fire in Ohio. This project was transformative, exemplifying our genuine commitment to the preservation of cultural heritage and to using our skills and knowledge to help others. The project engendered strong community support for UD and Winterthur and pride in the field of art conservation worldwide; one leader in our profession coined this "conservation's finest hour"; the local fire chief wrote a note of heartfelt thanks on behalf of those who responded and their devastated community. Our work was featured across many social media platforms from Columbia to the Congo, on local television and radio stations, and in Associated Press outlets nationwide. We have since received numerous requests for photograph preservation advice that we share readily.
A series offering tips on Caring for Family Treasures for our UD community and beyond has been widely distributed online. The e-blasts were written primarily by our graduate students and published weekly while working on the project.
Conservation Clinics
As part of the museum’s and the university’s missions of public service, advice on condition, care, and possible treatment is offered without charge. Paintings, textiles, works of art on paper, books and archival documents, photographic materials, furniture and decorative, archaeological and ethnographic objects are welcomed with their caretakers for 30-minute appointments. Faculty and students share their knowledge about the care of works of art of all materials with collectors, curators, caretakers, or scholars of works of art or cultural property.
The clinic is held at the Brown Horticulture Center at Winterthur, Route 52, Greenville, DE 19807. It is by appointment only. Call 800.448.3883 or email grouptours@winterthur.org.
NOTE: Monetary appraisals and authentication of objects will not be given. There is a limit of three works per appointment.
Department Tours
The public has opportunities for a behind the scenes look into the conservation labs at Winterthur. Since 2001, a subset of Winterthur's guiding staff has been trained to give public tours through the conservation facility on the first Wednesday of each month. For more information, call 800.448.3883 or visit Winterthur's website.
Pre-Program and Potential Applicant Tours: Tours of the WUDPAC conservation laboratories at the Winterthur Museum will be offered on designated Monday and Friday afternoons. Dates for the 2023-2024 academic year are: December 4th, February 2nd, March 8th, and April 5th, from 1:30-2:30pm. To sign up for a tour, or if you have questions about pre-program conservation tours, please contact WUDPAC Fellows Nicole Chausse (she/hers) and Kiki Peters (she/hers) at wudpactours@gmail.com.
