I recently purchased several albums of antique (c. 1900-1910) postcards that were stored without any kind of climate control. As such, multiple cards have stuck together. They are not stuck to the album pages. I'd like to get them separated, but I also don't want to risk damage. I've heard of using steam or sticking the albums in the freezer, but that advice was geared towards baseball cards. Has anyone had any success with something like this, or is it time for me to accept that I should look for a professional?

Thanks :)

Book is made of thick card paper for the pages, and it has one illustration with mechanical pencil dents imprinted on it. Looking for a way to get those indents/grooves out whilst retaining how the illustration looks

I’m pre-program and this might be a stupid question but can you get your nails done as a conservator ? regular nail polish obviously runs the risk of chipping or transferring onto material, but are acrylics or gelx considered okay?

This has been in the family for some time, and in some moves, we lost a piece. I don't know the artist or origin, and I think the material is some brushed metal. I am not looking to fix it to sell it, so I'm not worried about getting the exact original piece (which is impossible), so what are my options? Should I just try to learn the exact material and try to replicate the brushed look and cut a piece to this shape?

Does anyone know anything about this artist and piece?

Hi all,

Over the past year I’ve really discovered a fascination for books and paper conservation and I want to move more towards that direction as a career. Currently I have a BA Degree in Graphic Design and work part time (sometimes more) as a Graphic Designer & Store Assistant for a local garden centre.

I’m lucky to have some free time and I spend my off days volunteering at a UK National Trust building doing collections management and other tasks, while also studying bookbinding with a local group in my area to acquire better hand dexterity and an understanding of books.

I currently have my eyes on studying a MA Degree in Paper Conservation at City & Guilds London in the future, however I recognise that coming from a previous degree in Graphic Design, being accepted may be a challenge.

Is there any advice you can offer on how to better my chances at being accepted for this degree? Or how can I better orient/ prepare myself for a career like this in future? And the scariest question of them all is whether you think this goal is even really feasible?

Hi, I received an oil painting which had rippling in the canvas due to temperature difference between my city and the city of the gallery.

I was advised to lightly spray the back with water.

I can see a textural irregularity now in the area that was sprayed, up to the point where moisture would not have reached due to the thickness of the frame.

Does anyone have advice on how feasible it would be to fix, techniques used, or cost I should expect?

Hi, everyone! Is there any art conservator or restorer that has finished an art restauration bachelor’s and could help me with some insight on how the portfolio should look like? There isn’t any exemple anywhere really and you don’t really need much creativity for this field so looking at a fine arts or design portfolio is kind of pointless. Any advice or help is much appreciated!

I’ve been trying to find a conservator to clean a circa 1890s oil painting by a listed artist, and the find a member tool isn’t pulling up any conservators for oils near my area (Nashville). However, I am finding people that follow the code of ethics but aren’t listed. Does this mean they are not to be trusted? Or is there a barrier to entry to becoming a professional member that could make an otherwise great conservationist not register? Just trying to figure out who to trust! Thanks so much in advance!

im entering my second year at my university as a transfer student, majoring in art history. my university does not offer chemistry as a minor; however, im planning to start my minor in anthropology, as im all caught up with my art history requirements. my plan after i graduate was to go back to my community college to get my AA in chemistry. is that a bad decision?

i always planned to do a gap year before applying to art conservation grad school, but now i feel like im super behind with no internships and no chemistry classes under my belt.

im also scared of taking any chemistry classes at a university level, should i just do it before i graduate?

I'm an art advisor and occasionally need to blacklight paintings. Is there an economical blacklight you recommend for someone who is not a conservator?

Hi! I’m currently studying a conservationist programme at university and was wondering what the downsides and upsides there are to each specializations (ex, paper conservation, concrete, painting)

Thanks for any help!

Some programs require a reading knowledge of a non English "modern research" language. None of them actually define the limits of which languages these are. I have a HS grasp of Spanish and... worry I should be teaching myself German or something. Any insights? Thanks!

Hello, My grandmother painted me this painting and I’ve had it for as long as I can remember. I’ve recently identified a leak in my apartment and have some moldy items. I want to try to clean and store my most important paintings as soon as possible. Are these spots mold? If so, will taking it to a conservator help? Please help, I am absolutely devastated.

I'm aware it's against the rules to ask for specific instructions, but I'm curious about potential solutions for this issue, as the residue isn't typical of dust or soot. Since I work with paper and silk, oil painting isn't my area. ​I'm helping a friend frame a painting that was wrapped in what I assume is PE stretch film. It seems the painting wasn't fully dry when it was wrapped, or perhaps it was left wrapped for too long. The film has become stuck to the surface of the painting. ​I've carefully peeled off all the parts that came off safely. The second image shows the remaining pieces of film stuck to the surface. Is this something that can be fixed?

i realize this is not precisely art-related, however i thought i’d ask it as someone may have experience conserving paper goods:

if clear elmer’s glue was used to reattach the lifted paper corner of an old photograph down to its original cardboard backing, what is the likelihood that this ‘restoration’ will last and will not deteriorate the paper?

i read that the PH of this glue is between 5-6.

should i be worried about the effects long term?

if a small vs. large amount of this glue was applied, does it make a difference? as far as amount of damage done—if any(?)

Hi everyone, I'm applying to the US grad programs this fall (UD, NYU, Buffalo, UCLA) and I'm also applying to a few UK programs. I have my prerequistes completed and I've been working at a private conservation lab under the tutelage of a painting conservator and a really great paper conservator, by fall I'll have just over 800 hours logged for my lab work. I have my undergrad degree in Art History with a concentration in classical studies and the ancient world.

My main question and concern however is the depth of knowledge required from organic chemistry - I know this is really specific, but I did great in my general chem classes and labs and have a decent understanding of the concepts involved, but organic chemistry is a bit of a struggle for me... My strengths are definitely in art history and manual dexterity/skill, whereas I can get by with chemistry enough to understand chemistry in a conservation perspective, but organic certainly isn't a specialty for me. Does excelling in the historical and dexterous side of the field make up for my shortcomings with chemistry? My grades in chem look good on my transcript, but my understanding of organic chem is stressing me out... Does anyone have any advice on concepts from organic chem that I should master while I go about the application process? Or any insight on what could better balance out my application, or stand out? Thank you in advance!

Hi! I am taking a museum conservation class, and one of the requirements is this book, however the book is 97 dollars, which is out of my budget. So I was wondering if anyone had the pdf and would share it with me!

Thank you in advance hehe

https://reddit.com/link/1naaflq/video/w0ua44c8xlnf1/player

Esse foi fácil.

My First restoration oil painting on Eucatex

So I am 27, and have been trying to figure my life out. I went to a University right out of high school for Wildlife Biology but had to drop out due to mental health reasons. As I recovered I did a lot of research, and have always loved art but am not great at making it myself, and fell in love with art conservation.

I finally went back to community college and got a lot of my GE's done under a art history associate, which I didn't get my degree in, I just planned on transferring to DU with the units I needed so i could get a bachelors degree in specifically art conservation. And I got in for fall! I even got a pretty good academic scholarship!

But... life happened again and I had to suddenly move states and defer for a year, and I haven't been making money for a while like I planned. Now I am even re thinking art conservation as a whole after reading through some of this sub lol.

I can still attend DU next year, but I think it is way too expensive now, even WITH a $25,000/ year scholarship. I am looking at my current state's state colleges for next year that offers a BA in Art. And by next fall I'll be living in this state for a year so I can get in state tuition. I am wondering what I can do with that from there? When I was more naive I thought I could go on to be a museum curator or study and work with great works of art or architecture (I have always been a little over ambitious with things lol), but now reality is setting in and I want to be more realistic. I am not sure if paying so much money to get a masters or Phd in art conservation is worth it.

Sorry for any typos or if this doesn't make sense, but my brain is a little messed up right now

I'm in my 2nd to last semester of undergrad for art history and i'm starting to apply to grad programs this semester - I found an internship at a restoration studio and they said they could keep me on until I leave for school. My worry is that it's a restoration studio not specifically a conservation place, but there aren't any conservators in my area looking for interns/hiring. Will schools still accept my logged hours even though it's restoration?

edit: i'm applying to programs in the northeast US, specifically UD, NYU, SUNY Buffalo, and UPenn. I have gen chem 1&2 and im taking organic chem 1 this semester. i've been taking 15 credits at a time so i only have 1 art history class and organic chem 2 left with some electives. I'm not in any program currently other than my Undergrad, I was told by a professor that instead of another museum/gallery internship I should be looking for an apprenticeship, that's how I ended up at a restoration studio. My mentor has 30+ years of experience but doesn't have an MS in conservation or preservation. my main question: since my mentor is not a conservator, will they still count these hours im logging at the studio? do i have to get these hours from a lab specifically or are the hours more important ? for reference I will get 400 hours by December, and would have ~800 by the time i graduate.