Conservation at the Ackland
Check out The Paper Docs in the fall edition of Endeavours Magazine for a feature story about conservation at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The Ackland's conservation program is key to our mission to "acquire, preserve, exhibit and interpret works of art". Art conservation is multi-faceted, but its most essential function is preservation. Works of art are preserved and protected through control of temperature, humidity, lighting, housing, organization, handling and travel.
In addition, conservation includes documentation, analysis, repair and restoration of works of art. Lyn Koehnline has been the Ackland's conservator since 1988. While overseeing the conservation program for the Museum's nearly 15,000 works of art, she specializes in the treatment of work on paper - prints, drawings, watercolors, and photographs.
As a Fellow of the American Institute for Conservation the Ackland’s conservator keeps current with developments in the field. She trains and supervises conservation interns, and teaches about artist’s materials and techniques, as art department adjunct faculty. Educational lab tours have been conducted for college students, school children, Museum docents, and other groups. In addition, conservation advice is provided to other arts institutions by appointment.
The Museum's conservation facility is equipped for the full range of paper conservation treatments. This includes operations such as the repair of tears, reduction of stains and discolorations, consolidation of flaking paint, removal of deleterious mounts and tapes, as well as paper analysis, which can be useful in dating works of art.
Adopt a Work of Art
In January 2007, the Ackland launched a new program to fund top priority conservation treatments. Adopt a Work of Art gives individuals and groups the opportunity to sponsor the treatment of an individual work of art. The sponsor of a treatment has the fascinating opportunity to follow its progress through written reports, photos, and, in some cases, lab visits. When the conserved work returns to the gallery, the sponsor will be acknowledged in the wall label whenever the work is displayed in the Ackland Galleries.
Contact Ackland conservator Lyn Koehnline (843-3680; koehnlin@email.unc.edu) for further information about the program.
Find out more details of the works and their needed treatments by clicking on the respective image.
Current Works Awaiting Sponsorship
Current Sponsorships
A very special thank you to Carol McNeel for being the first to support the program and adopt Roe Deer in the Snow by Courbet.
Special thanks to every member of the Ackland Art Museum Guild for their adoption of Head of a Model by Bonnat.
Past Sponsorships
