Beverly and Gayle W. Doster Painting Conservator (Collection Conservation Specialist), Eskenazi Museum of Art
Job Summary
The museum is a premier teaching museum that develops breakthrough programming, experiences, and storytelling that advance its mission in powerful ways. In support of these goals, the museum seeks a Painting Conservator who will be responsible for the long-term study and care of works in the museum's collection, specifically approximately 1,200 European and American paintings dating from ca. 1500 to the present. Strengths include Italian Renaissance and Baroque paintings, nineteenth-century American paintings, and modernist styles, including German Expressionism, Cubism, and post-war abstraction.
Department-Specific Responsibilities
- Responsible for a large range of treatment projects, focusing on paintings within the museum's collection. These projects may range from short-term aesthetic treatments to complex structural work.
- Prepare outgoing and incoming condition reports for paintings on loan, make recommendations for ensuring works are travel-ready, advise on packing, and serve as a courier on occasion.
- Advise on technical issues related to potential acquisitions and gifts.
- Responsible for strong knowledge and practice of preventive conservation, including protocols and thresholds for: Integrated Pest Management, maintaining appropriate light levels, relative humidity and temperature levels, and appropriate housing for paintings in storage.
- Arrange for consultations, analytical work, and treatments with external conservators and laboratories; assess treatment proposals from contract conservators; and oversee any subsequent treatments.
- Contribute to researching, developing, and overseeing innovative methodologies for the long-term preservation of paintings.
- Consult with Campus Art on certain master works on campus, including "Peau Rouge" by Alexander Calder and the "History of Indiana" murals by Thomas Hart Benton.
- In consultation with the Director of Curatorial Affairs, curators, and registrar, advise on all matters pertaining to the conservation and preservation of paintings in the museum's collection.
- Develop policies for the long-term care and preservation of paintings in the collection following professional standards in museum conservation.
- Administer and oversee activities in the department, including budgets, staffing, and performance planning and review.
- Participate in grant writing and development activities as requested.
- Maintain thorough records of written and photographic documentation of conservation assessments, treatment proposals, all stages of treatment, and final treatment reports filed on paper and digital format to be stored and shared in the museum's collections database program.
- Supervise assistant objects conservator, pending position approval and hiring.
- Collaborate with museum's education department and actively participate in the teaching and outreach activities of the museum.
- Propose research and collaborative projects with partner institutions, curatorial staff, and conservation professionals.
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