Objects Conservation Articles
Aug 19, 2020
In 2019 the monumental bronze statue of Joan of Arc, which sits on a granite base outside the Legion of Honor’s main entrance, underwent a major conservation treatment. The sculpture is a work by Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington...
Sep 18, 2019
In this post from the objects conservation lab, Catherine Coueignoux discusses a decorative technique known as marquetry used in the making of an 18th-century French writing table. Coueignoux is a former associate objects...
Sep 3, 2018
In the eighteenth century, women in European society used fans as dynamic objects to convey emotions, flick away suitors, and keep themselves cool. As such, fans were repeatedly folded and unfolded, causing their materials...
Aug 28, 2018
The exhibition Truth and Beauty: The Pre-Raphaelites and the Old Masters at the Legion of Honor was created by a team that came together across the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. All four conservation...
Jan 19, 2017
When we think of X-rays, we immediately think of images of our bodies. We know that X-rays can reveal a broken bone for example, but they can also give us information about what is happening inside inanimate objects.Chairs...
Jan 19, 2017
Geneva Griswold, the former Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in Objects Conservation, talked with us about how she and her colleagues keep Auguste Rodin’s sculpture The Thinker looking its very best.
Jun 29, 2011
When objects conservators design a treatment for a corroded sculpture, they often have to grapple with the issue of the artist’s intent.For instance, would Henry Moore at age 29, who made a sculpture with a shiny metallic...
Jun 29, 2011
The Objects Conservation Department worked with outdoor sculpture contractors from Tracy Power Conservation to conserve the Louise Nevelson sculpture Ocean Gate in 2011. The sculpture is located at the south corner...
Mar 15, 2011
Internships are a crucial part of the education and training of conservators. Currently we have three graduate interns in conservation from three different countries, allowing us a unique opportunity to discuss conservation...