Smithsonian Institution Office of Conservation

Smithsonian Institution Office of Conservation
Name	Smithsonian Institution Office of Conservation
Formed	1965
Jurisdiction	Smithsonian Institution
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Parent agency	Smithsonian Institution

Contents

Smithsonian Institution Office of Conservation is the conservation program office within the Smithsonian Institution responsible for the preservation, care, and treatment of the Institution's vast collections across museums such as the National Museum of Natural History, National Air and Space Museum, National Museum of American History, and Freer Gallery of Art. It coordinates conservation strategy for artifacts associated with figures and events including Abraham Lincoln, Wright brothers, Neil Armstrong, and objects from sites like Jamestown and Maya sites. The office collaborates with partner organizations including the National Park Service, Library of Congress, American Institute for Conservation, and international bodies such as UNESCO and the International Council of Museums.

History

The office traces its antecedents to curatorial conservation efforts at the Smithsonian Institution in the 19th century alongside collectors like Joseph Henry and directors such as Charles Doolittle Walcott. Formalization occurred in the late 20th century amid initiatives led by administrators such as S. Dillon Ripley and curators associated with the National Museum of Natural History and the National Portrait Gallery. Influences and collaborative programs have included work with the Hagia Sophia conservation community, conservation responses following disasters like the 1972 Floods in Rapid City, South Dakota recovery efforts, and methodological exchanges with laboratories at Harvard University, Yale University, and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.

The office's mission coordinates preservation policy for objects connected to events and people such as Lewis and Clark Expedition, Pocahontas, Susan B. Anthony, Wright Flyer, and specimens from expeditions like those of Charles Darwin and Alexander von Humboldt. Responsibilities include preventive conservation for collections from institutions like the National Zoo, emergency response planning akin to protocols developed after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing for cultural property, treatment standards referenced by the American Museum of Natural History and Metropolitan Museum of Art, and compliance with legislation such as the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and international agreements like the 1970 UNESCO Convention.

The office operates within the Smithsonian Institution centralized administrative framework overseen by the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and coordinates with museum directors at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Anacostia Community Museum, and the National Postal Museum. Divisions include object conservation, paper and photograph conservation, textile and costume conservation, preventive conservation, and conservation science laboratories that interface with research units such as the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, and the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Leadership liaises with external governance bodies like the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, and advisory groups including the American Alliance of Museums.

Programs encompass long-term initiatives such as treatment of aerospace artifacts from the Mercury Program, restoration of historic artifacts related to Martin Luther King Jr., paleontological conservation for specimens from La Brea Tar Pits, and preservation of textile collections linked to figures like Queen Elizabeth II and events like the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Projects have included conservation of diplomatic gifts exchanged with the Foreign Service Institute, stabilization of botanical collections associated with John Bartram, and preventive measures for archaeological materials from Chaco Canyon, Machu Picchu, and Teotihuacan. Collaborative projects feature partnerships with the National Archives and Records Administration, World Monuments Fund, Getty Conservation Institute, International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property, and university conservation programs at University of Delaware and Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library.

Conservation science teams publish protocols and methods applied to artifacts related to Apollo 11, USS Constitution, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, and natural history specimens from regions like the Galápagos Islands and Yellowstone National Park. Laboratories host interdisciplinary research using techniques developed in collaboration with institutions such as the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and universities including Stanford University and University of Pennsylvania. Studies address material degradation, climate control strategies used for collections from the Smithsonian Institution Building (The Castle), analyses of pigments on works comparable to collections at the National Gallery of Art, and conservation challenges posed by media from Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell.

The office runs internships and fellowships partnering with programs at the Cooperstown Graduate Program, Queen's University Belfast, and the University of Melbourne, supports workforce development through collaborations with the American Institute for Conservation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and engages the public via exhibits at the National Museum of American History and educational programming connected to the National Air and Space Museum and National Museum of Natural History. Outreach includes loan and loan-review protocols with institutions such as the British Museum, Musée du Louvre, Hermitage Museum, and exchange programs with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Emergency preparedness and cultural heritage response training have been coordinated with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and international disaster response entities including the International Committee of the Red Cross.