During the period of internship at the Art Gallery of New South
Wales (March, 1982 - January 1983), I had the opportunity to work on
paintings from the 20th, 19th, 10th, and 17th centuries. Some of the
paintings were privately owned, and usually arrived at the Gallery in
much worse condition than any of the Gallery's paintings, therefore
I had the chance to carry out major treatments as well as the routine
minor treatments associated with the maintenance of a collection.
The atmosphere at the Gallery conservation facility is a healthy
one. The laboratory supports five fulltime conservators (Alan Lloyd,
Peter Gill, Gill McMillan, Susie Bioletti, and Ranson Davies). All
the members of staff were willing participants in helping and advising
me during my period of internship. The contact with so many points of
view and attitudes was instrumental in maintaining a positive and constructive
attitude toward the profession. Cathy Lillico (conservator
for the Regional Galleries) and Anne Gaulton were also working in the
laboratory during my period of internship. Both took an active interest
in my work at the Gallery.
The work emphasis at the Gallery was placed on practical experience
with paintings conservation, and a wide range of techniques and attitudes
were considered and implemented. The period was also an opportunity to
become involved in other aspects of conservation work apart from treatments.
The transport, display, lighting, packaging and handling of painttings
are important responsibilities for conservation staff, and I participated
in them whenever possible. The routine examination of the Gallery
collection and monitoring the light and temperature fluctuations within
the Gallery environment were also part of my duties. The exposure also
gave me the opportunity to answer public telephone enquiries and participate
in advising the public on conservation during the Thursday morning
open house, when the public is allowed to bring their works into the
Gallery for advice from curatorial and conservation staff. I consider
it a valuable and worthwhile exposure to the workings of a major institution.
The Gallery conservation facilities include a studio and darkroom
that are well equipped for conservation photography. I chose to take
advantage of those facilities to improve my standard of photography and
increase my understanding of the application of photography to the examination
of paintings. The Gallery was very generous to allow me the use
of film materials during my period of internship. All the plates and
slides in this presentation were photographed, developed, and printed by
myself, with the exception of color processing, using the conservation
department facilities.
Internships are not a tradition within the Art Gallery Conservation
Department. Because of this, there is not an established program or itinerary
for interns to follow. I am grateful to the entire staff of the
conservation department, especially Alan Lloyd, for their support and
encouragement in shaping an interesting and rewarding internship. I hope
the opportunity will be made available to others who wish to pursue the
profession of conservation.
Some of the material presented in this dissertation is included for
my own reference. This includes the TABLES 1-4 and some of the basic information
under the conservation photography section dealing with normal and
raking light illumination techniques.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/219363 |
| Date | January 1983 |
| Creators | Stryker, Mark D., n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Applied Science |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Mark D. Stryker |
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