New York Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts

New York Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts
Name	New York Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts
Formation	1970s
Headquarters	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Region served	United States
Leader title	Executive Director

New York Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts is a nonprofit conservation laboratory and advocacy organization specializing in the preservation of paper-based cultural heritage. Founded to serve archives, museums, libraries, historical societies, and private collections, the Center provides treatment, consultation, and training to safeguard documents, maps, prints, and books. Working with regional and national institutions, the Center has been involved in high-profile conservation projects and disaster recovery efforts.

History

Established in the 1970s amid growing preservation concerns at institutions such as the Library of Congress, Smithsonian Institution, Metropolitan Museum of Art, American Philosophical Society, and New-York Historical Society, the Center emerged alongside initiatives like the National Endowment for the Humanities preservation programs and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Early collaborators included conservators trained at Yale University, University of Delaware, Art Conservation Department (SUNY Buffalo) and professionals from the New York Public Library, Boston Athenaeum, Princeton University, and Columbia University. The Center expanded through partnerships with municipal agencies such as the City of Philadelphia and advocacy by organizations including the American Institute for Conservation and the Council on Library and Information Resources. Over decades the Center responded to regional disasters affecting holdings at the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, International Museum of Surgical Science, Independence National Historical Park, and private collections belonging to families tied to the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Du Pont family.

Mission and Services

The Center's mission aligns with preservation principles advocated by the Getty Conservation Institute, UNESCO, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the International Council on Archives. Services encompass preventive conservation, paper and photograph treatment, deacidification, encapsulation, rehousing, mold remediation, and disaster response coordination used by institutions such as the Library Company of Philadelphia, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Museum of the City of New York, Penn Museum, and Vermont Historical Society. The Center consults on exhibit standards for venues like the Field Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, and assists provenance research tied to collections at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Gallery of Art. Fee-for-service treatment, grant-funded projects from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and training supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services underpin operations.

Collections and Notable Projects

The Center has treated documents ranging from Declaration of Independence-era facsimiles to 19th-century cartographic holdings linked to the Lewis and Clark Expedition, sheet music associated with Stephen Foster, photographs by Mathew Brady, prints by James McNeill Whistler, and business records of firms like Cramp & Sons and the UPenn Archives. Notable projects include stabilization of maps related to the Erie Canal, conservation of Civil War correspondence tied to the Army of the Potomac, preservation of materials from the Yellow Fever epidemics archived in New Orleans Public Library partners, and treatments supporting exhibitions at institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, Carnegie Museum of Art, and National Museum of American History. The Center's disaster recovery efforts have assisted collections affected by events like Hurricane Katrina, regional floods, and building fires encountered by organizations such as the New Jersey Historical Society and Rutgers University.

Conservation Techniques and Research

Practitioners at the Center employ techniques consistent with standards from the American Institute for Conservation, research collaborations with the Chemical Heritage Foundation and the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training, and laboratory methods taught at Columbia University and Conservation Center of the Institute of Fine Arts, NYU. Treatments include aqueous washing, enzyme stabilization, leafcasting, Japanese paper mends, and humidification/stretching protocols for works by artists represented in collections like the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The Center has participated in technical studies of inks, pigments, adhesives, and paper fibers using instrumentation and analytical frameworks promoted by the Smithsonian Institution laboratories, Getty Conservation Institute, and university-based preservation science programs at University of Delaware and Northumbria University.

Education, Outreach, and Partnerships

Educational programming targets staff from the American Antiquarian Society, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania State Archives, and smaller local historical societies, offering workshops on collections care, disaster preparedness, and cataloging. The Center partners with grantmakers including the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services to deliver training for conservators and archivists associated with the Society of American Archivists, Association of History and Computing, and the National Archives and Records Administration. Outreach includes public lectures, collaborative exhibitions with the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Library Company of Philadelphia, and internships connecting students from Syracuse University, University of Delaware, Rutgers University, and University of Pennsylvania to professional practice.

Facilities and Governance

Housed in conservation laboratories outfitted for paper, photograph, and map treatment, the Center follows facility standards influenced by National Park Service preservation guidelines and environmental recommendations from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers used by museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago. Governance is provided by a board composed of professionals from institutions including Princeton University, Temple University, Drexel University, and representatives of the American Institute for Conservation and regional historical societies. Funding sources are a mix of service income, grants from organizations like the Annenberg Foundation and private philanthropy from families with civic ties to Philadelphia and the broader Mid-Atlantic region.

Category:Conservation organizations Category:Nonprofit organizations based in Pennsylvania