Conservators

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• Knowledge of art history and art-making
• Knowledge of science, especially chemistry
• Knowledge of the materials of art-making
• Ability to work in a patient, methodical and detailed way
• Good skills of visual analysis
• Good coordination to work with their hands
• Good communication skills

"You need to be a very patient person … You need to have a talent for art-making. You can’t be a really good conservator without it."
Geoffrey Morrow, Senior Conservator

"You need good hand skills to be an artist is a great way of getting into conservation. For photographs conservation you are also need to know a lot about the history of the medium to know the materials that you are working with very deeply. A lot of conservators today have a background in science because what we do is a kind of evidence based approach to working with materials"
John McElhone, Photographs Conservator

“It is almost as if you are in the position of the artist. It is as if you are looking through their eyes. You are trying to do your best for them.”
Geoffrey Morrow, Senior Conservator
“I think that that’s clearly the fact that I get to work with works of art all the time. I get to look at them, understand them, think about them, think about what the artist intended for me to see. It’s a very rich work environment from that point of view.”
John McElhone, Photographs Conservator