Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies

Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies
Name	Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies
Established	1928
Location	Cambridge, Massachusetts
Type	Conservation laboratory
Parent	Harvard Art Museums

Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies is the conservation laboratory of the Harvard Art Museums, responsible for treatment, research, and technical study of works on paper, manuscripts, paintings, photographs, and objects. The center supports curatorial initiatives from the Harvard Art Museums, the Fogg Museum, the Busch-Reisinger Museum, and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum while collaborating with institutions and scholars across fields such as archaeology, architecture, and museum studies. It functions as a hub linking conservation science, art history, and museum practice through treatment, technical analysis, and preventive care.

History

Founded in the early 20th century within the Harvard Art Museums ecosystem, the center developed alongside collecting programs at Harvard College, the Fogg Museum, the Busch-Reisinger Museum, and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum. Over decades it has intersected with figures and entities including Bernard Berenson, Paul J. Sachs, Alfred H. Barr Jr., James Cahill, and Ernst Kitzinger, aligning conservation practice with research priorities at institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the British Museum, and the Musée du Louvre. The center’s growth paralleled developments in scientific approaches pioneered by organizations like the International Institute for Conservation, the International Council of Museums, the Getty Conservation Institute, and the Royal Institution of Great Britain, and drew on scholarly exchange with universities including Yale University, Princeton University, Columbia University, and the University of Oxford. During the late 20th century the center incorporated analytical methods promoted by the Council on Library and Information Resources, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Science Foundation, and it participated in cross-institutional projects with the Smithsonian Institution, the Library of Congress, the Morgan Library & Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Collections and Materials Studied

The center treats and studies materials from a wide range of collections, including European paintings associated with names such as Rembrandt, Titian, and Goya; Asian scrolls and ceramics linked to collections like the Freer Gallery of Art and the Asian Art Museum; medieval and Renaissance manuscripts comparable to holdings at the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library and the British Library; early modern prints by Albrecht Dürer, Francisco de Goya, and Rembrandt van Rijn; photographic works relating to collections at the George Eastman Museum and the International Center of Photography; and contemporary works by artists represented in institutional collections such as the Museum of Modern Art, the Tate Modern, and the Centre Pompidou. Material categories commonly examined include oil on canvas, tempera, egg tempera, vellum, parchment, paper, pigments such as ultramarine and lead white, binders such as linseed oil and casein, metalpoint drawings, lacquer, pigments from the mineral kingdom like azurite, organic colorants like cochineal, photographic silver gelatin prints, daguerreotypes, cyanotypes, textile fibers including silk and wool, and archaeological ceramics similar to artifacts held by the Ashmolean Museum and the Pergamon Museum.

Conservation Techniques and Research

Research at the center addresses conservation treatments and technical analysis, employing methodologies influenced by conservation literature from authors like Herbert Read, Rosalie Green, and the team behind the Getty Conservation Institute publications. Practices include consolidation of flaking paint informed by studies on lead soap formation in oil paintings; lining and re-lining approaches comparable to methods debated in conservators’ forums such as the American Institute for Conservation; paper washing and deacidification techniques akin to projects at the Library of Congress and the National Archives; and photographic conservation protocols paralleling work at the George Eastman Museum. Scientific analyses use non-invasive imaging—X-radiography, infrared reflectography, ultraviolet fluorescence—alongside micro-chemical methods such as Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence, Raman spectroscopy, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, and cross-sectional microscopy employed in laboratories like those at the Getty Research Institute, the Courtauld Institute of Art, and the Rathgen-Forschungslabor. Conservation research topics include varnish removal controversies discussed in literature from the Courtauld Institute, pigment identification projects associated with studies at the Smithsonian Conservation Analytical Laboratory, and studies on conservation ethics reflected in debates at the International Council on Monuments and Sites and the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property.

Facilities and Laboratory Equipment

The center’s facilities are equipped with specialized spaces and instruments comparable to those found in leading conservation laboratories, supporting treatment and analysis of collections from institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Rijksmuseum. Laboratories include painting conservation studios, paper and works on paper labs, photograph conservation suites, a wet lab for aqueous treatments, and an analytical lab housing equipment including digital microscopes, high-resolution stereomicroscopes, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometers, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometers, Raman microscopes, microfade testers, humidity- and light-controlled storage comparable to standards at the National Gallery, and climate monitoring systems aligned with guidelines from the American Alliance of Museums. The center integrates conservation documentation systems similar to those used at the Smithsonian Institution and Princeton University Art Museum for treatment records, condition reporting, and digital image archives.

Education, Training, and Outreach

The center serves as a training ground for conservation interns and fellows from programs such as the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, the Buffalo State College conservation program, and the Institut national du patrimoine, and it hosts workshops and seminars drawing participants from universities like Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, and University College London. Educational activities include graduate-level seminars tied to Harvard’s Department of History of Art and Architecture, hands-on practica similar to those at the Courtauld Institute, continuing education courses in partnership with the American Institute for Conservation and lectures featuring speakers from institutions such as the Getty Conservation Institute, the British Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and the National Gallery of Art. Outreach extends to curatorial collaborations with the Fogg Museum, the Busch-Reisinger Museum, the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, and community engagement initiatives modeled on programs by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Peabody Essex Museum.

Collaborations and Partnerships

The center maintains collaborations with academic departments and cultural institutions including Harvard University libraries, the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, the Arnold Arboretum, and international partners like the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the Rijksmuseum, the Museo del Prado, and the Hermitage Museum. Research partnerships often involve grant-funded projects with organizations such as the Getty Conservation Institute, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Science Foundation, and the Mellon Foundation, and joint initiatives with laboratories like the Smithsonian Conservation Analytical Laboratory, the Courtauld Institute of Art’s scientific department, and the Rathgen-Forschungslabor. The center also contributes to professional networks including the American Institute for Conservation, the International Institute for Conservation, ICOM-CC, and the Association of North American Graduate Programs in the Conservation of Cultural Property.

Category:Harvard Art Museums Category:Conservation and restoration