• ADOPT A WORK OF ART
• ILMS ASIAN ART CONSERVATION PROJECT
• CARING FOR YOUR WORKS OF ART ON PAPER

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.

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 15,500 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 artists' materials and techniques as an adjunct faculty member of the UNC-Chapel Hill art department. 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.