What is it about?
This chapter from a book on the history of art conservation focuses on the history of the Smithsonian's conservation laboratory. It describes the challenges its staff had in developing their expertise, and, eventually, their creation of educational programs as a core role alongside working with museum objects. This fits into a broader story of training programs and workplaces shaping the field of conservation in the United States. With its position as a leading center of conservation in the country's largest museum system, the Smithsonian's conservation laboratory served as a hub of knowledge and training in the latter half of the twentieth century.
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Why is it important?
The history of conservation teaches us not only what strategies have been employed to protect cultural heritage objects for the future but also what choices have been made by the different groups working with them: what approaches to use, who can do this kind of work, and even what matters most to preserve.
Perspectives
This chapter focuses on some of the people and institutions that had the largest impact on conservation in the United States, which I hope illustrates the personal dimensions that go into this interdisciplinary work. This project was developed from working and speaking with many historians, conservators, and scholars interested in the history of conservation, and it was a wonderful opportunity for collaboration.
Leib Celnik
Johns Hopkins University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The Smithsonian Institution and the Rise of the American Conservation Laboratory after the Second World War, November 2025, De Gruyter,
DOI: 10.1163/9789004737303_006.
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