Encounters with Conservation

Name: Encounters with Conservation
Start: 2026-01-27T12:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-01-27T13:00:00-05:00
Location: Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138

Schedule

Tue Jan 27 2026 at 12:00 pm to 01:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138 | Cambridge, MA

Have you ever wondered what happens in our conservation labs? Join a member of our Straus Center staff for an informal conversation about their work treating objects in our collections. Taking place just outside the Straus Center in the Lightbox Gallery, this presentation will give you the chance to get up close and hands-on with a selection of tools and materials used by conservation staff.
In this session, Saffie Patel, the Richard I. Shader Fellow in Paintings Conservation, will talk about varnish on paintings.
The Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies is a world leader in fine arts conservation, research, and training. The center’s laboratories are where conservation, conservation science, and curatorial practice intersect, coming together to enrich the understanding of and care for the approximately 250,000 objects in the Harvard Art Museums collections.
Please check in with museum staff at the Visitor Services desk in the Calderwood Courtyard to request to join the program. Space is limited, and this program is available on a first-come, first-served basis; no registration is required.