Grant recipients

This page is about some of the recent recipients of grants from the Trust.

2008/09 Grant Recipients

Jennifer Halling at West Dean was faced with the challenge of conserving a book which had no spine, missing and detached pages, misaligned inserts and sewing which cut through the sections. She said “… to see (the owner’s) joy at the return of his loved book in a usable condition” confirmed to her that she was following her preferred career choice.

Elizabeth McCormick on the Conservation for Archaeology and Museums course at UCL said “ The first year has prepared me well for my future work … this combined with the knowledge, practical experience and opportunity to work within a professional environment … will equip me well for becoming a professional conservator”.

Chloe Evans did an MA in Preventive Conservation at Northumbria University via distance learning. The course took two years but enabled her to continue living and working in London. By the end of her first year she had completed modules in Chemistry, Physics and Environmental Management as well as carrying out a work placement at the Museum of London. She felt that the on-line lectures were well structured, with examples, questions and suggested reading. Although not there in person the lecturers were only a e-mail or phone call away so she felt well supported. There were also on-line discussion boards which she found very helpful.

Hugi Hicyilmaz found that his second year on the Conservation course at City & Guilds was highly theoretical as well as practical. “The wide range of subjects covered have subsequently coalesced to further my understanding of conservation issues. Difficult though some of these subjects were I now feel able to deal with a wide variety of objects and materials in the future.” He has presented his research in front of the whole school and “… managed to rather enjoy the occasion and has subsequently delivered numerous talks and demonstrations both in and out of school”.

Caroline Baker found her first year at the Courtauld both challenging and enjoyable as well as extremely busy. About 50 per cent of her time was spent on practical studio work with the remainder concentrated on lectures and seminars. She worked on two eighteenth century paintings. The first came from the Royal Collection and was commissioned to record uniforms of regiments under the control of the Duke of Cumberland. It had both tears and water damage. The second was a three-quarter-length portrait of a gentleman by an unknown artist. It is still on its original stretcher, is unlined and has had almost nothing done to it. As a result it was a very exciting project.

2007/08 Grant recipients

Sam Gatley’s first project on the RCA/V&A’s Conservation and Mounting of Costumes course was to mount 11 items of 1950s’ underwear. She also had to prepare a Russian cosmonaut suit for exhibition, which had to look as if was worn in a standing position but with as little sign as possible of a mount or mannequin. She is rapidly becoming experienced in the art of invisible mounting.

Emma Le Cornu found that the Masters programme in the Conservation of Fine Art at Northumbria “…contributed towards building up a comprehensive understanding and knowledge of conservation techniques, treatments and materials and the confidence to use them in a professional studio as a practicing conservator”. She was quickly successful in finding employment.

Hannah Barrett worked on a number of items in her final year at the TCC, including a pair of Victorian pink silk satin shoes, a piece of 18th century Ottoman embroidery, a 1950s’ Eau du nil dress and a 1920s’ black feathered cape. The course was everything she had hoped for and she felt well prepared for professional placement.

In his report Felix Thornton Jones wrote that “the experience of living in China and studying alongside Chinese students were a fascinating process both academically and culturally”. He felt very fortunate “…to be involved in the conservation of Shuilu’an Temple. Inside it ... is a treasure trove of nearly 3,000 painted sculptures …ranging in size from a few inches to three times life-size”. For him, the interesting part of working as a conservator on the project was to learn about the traditional methods used to construct the temple and how they could be rehabilitated and included in a modern conservation process.

Alexandra Martin felt that the Postgraduate Diploma Course in Conservation at Camberwell equipped her with the necessary basic conservation practical skills, theoretical and scientific knowledge to progress to a Masters course where all these skills can be further developed.

Sarah Morton - 2006/07

Sarah Morton was an intern at the Museum of London in the second year
of her MSc in Conservation for Archaeology and Museums at University
College London. During the internship she worked on a wide range of projects and consolidated the practical skills she learned in the first year of the MSc as well as developing new skills and treating materials she had not previously worked on. She commented that “One of the most interesting projects … was the display of the sarcophagus and human remains discovered during excavations at St Martin in the Fields.

The project was particularly challenging as the ethics of displaying the remains and the effect of any conservation treatments had to be carefully
considered… Along with my conservation skills my time management and organisational skills have also developed. Overall I feel that the internship provided a good base for my career as a professional conservator. The skills I developed … have allowed me to make the transition into a professional role in which I will continue to learn and
develop”.

Gregory Bell - 2006/07

Gregory Bell did a one-year course at West Dean College on the conservation
and restoration of antique clocks. Having successfully made a test piece, which
was also deliberately damaged and repaired, he was allowed to work on a
number of clocks. These differed both in themselves and in the repairs
needed by each. Two copies of a report on each repair were made, one
remaining at the college and the other going to the customer. During the year
Gregory also heard lectures by the course tutor and by visiting experts –
including a freelance illustrator who demonstrated that by using good
observational skills and studying the original style of the maker the repairer
can make replacement parts that blend in with the original components of the
clock - as well as visiting stately homes, museums and workshops. He was
invited by an established clock-maker to visit him to see how he ran his clock
business.

Having finished the course, he started working towards establishing his own
workshop. He commented that he was then in a position “a long way from
where I started”.

Amanda White - 2006/07

Amanda White was funded for the second year of a two year part-time MA
course on Conservation of Historic Objects at the University of Lincoln. This
included two taught modules and her own research project. During the year
she worked on awide range of objects, including a Moroccan leather bag, an
18th-century japanned Cloisonnerie chair from Belvoir Castle, a Crown Derby
porcelain peacock, a copper alloy pin and a Victorian photo album. The last
belonged to her own family. She cleaned and repaired the album, cleaned the
photographs and made a box to protect the album from further damage. With
the chair, she both cleaned and consolidated the frame and replaced and
retouched the decoration. For her research project Amanda designed,
implemented and analysed a collection condition survey for Newark and
Sherwood museum service’s social history collection.

Concluding her report to the Trust, Amanda noted that she had secured her
first professional conservation post – a threemonth contract with Sharjah
Museums, in the United Arab Emirates – and added “Exciting times are
ahead!”.

Mid career training

The Trust also gives grants for mid-career training. The number of applicants, and the number of grants given, has risen over the years as the Trust has become better known. In the past three years grants have been given for courses that covered a wide range
of subjects, varying from pest management and plant fibre identification to the use of adhesives for textile conservation, the examination of paint layers, new methods of cleaning painted surfaces, the conservation of wax models, Japanese conservation
techniques and the Chemistry for Conservators distance learning course.Collection care issues such as the packing of loans, mount making for museums, storage of art on paper as well as more general conservation techniques were also covered.

The Trust also funds attendance at conferences, both in the UK and abroad,often helping to finance participants who are giving a paper. The conferences attended have covered paper, bookbinding, leather,
upholstery, mosaics, modern paints and the threats posed by fungi as well as a wide variety of ICOM conferences and meetings.

Applications for CPD training grants are considered three times a year, in March, June and September.

Rebecca Tabram - 2005/06s

Rebecca Tabram completed the MA in Conservation course at Camberwell
College of Arts in July 2006. Rebecca specialised in book conservation and during the first term she worked on “a small family ‘archive’ of books and letters, which presented a variety of conservation issues in microcosm, such as cataloguing, palaeography and research into ownership as well as book structures and materials”. Her studio project in the last two terms was to work on two bibles with contrasting aspects of
structure ownership and damage. She wrote “Over the year I have developed a greater understanding of the ethical issues that are encountered in conservation practice along with some of the skills needed to put theory into practice. The course has helped me broaden my perception of what book conservation encompasses; having come to the field from bookbinding my ‘idea’ of book conservation was that it involved the restoration of single items. I now see that while there is still a place for such treatments, restoration is only a small (and often contentious) part of the whole process of cultural preservation”.

Rosamund Weatherall - 2005/06

Rosamund Weatherall completed her MA in Textile Conservation at the TCC at
the University of Southampton in 2005. In the first year Rosamund was
introduced to “many of the core skills required to make an assessment of the
condition and subsequent treatment of a textile artefact” while in the second
she focused on advanced conservation techniques.

Her projects included treating a black silk dress (c1905) which had suffered
significant damage. The treatment involved the removal of adhesives with
which it had been repaired and resupport of the affected area. She also
worked on “a fragment of a Paisley-style shawl forming a decorative panel in
an organ, which had suffered soiling and significant damage… The project
was both challenging and fascinating as in discovering the history of the
manufacture of shawls of this type I was able to give a more informed
treatment to the fragment”. Rosamund said “The course has continued to
develop my understanding of the techniques used in textile conservation within
an ethical framework. I am confident that it has equipped me to make an
immediate contribution to the profession”.

Joanna Russell - 2005/06

Joanna Russell was awarded a grant towards the costs of a one-year internship
at the Hamilton Kerr Institute, in paintings conservation. Her internship was
informal in structure, enabling her to get involved with different projects, often
collaborative, as they arose. She took part in several practical projects in the
studio, which involved mending tears, surface cleaning and varnish removal (in
one case of a portrait by Kneller, and which in another revealed several
unexpected changes, including the replacement of a hat and the addition of
an Order of the Garter collar), strip lining (a portrait of the Duke of Wellington)
and packing a very large painting. She took part in projects in private and
National Trust properties and in the Fitzwilliam Museum, and also made a
study trip to Poland, where she visited conservation studios and schools. She
commented that her internship gave her “a lot more practical experience of
conservation treatments, and enabled me to see the different approaches to
treatment used by conservators in another studio to that in which I trained”.

Her internship was subsequently extended for a second year.

Student Bursaries 2002-2003 - profile of Helen Thomas

Student Bursaries 2002-2003 – profile of Helen Thomas
Helen Thomas successfully completed the postgraduate diploma in ceramic and glass conservation at West Dean College in the summer. The first term introduced two new materials – stone and glass – and the
second term was mostly spent on work placements with a private conservator in Sussex and then at the National Museum of Scotland. For her final project in the third term, Helen studied nineteenth century
restorations of Bronze Age pottery at the National Museum of Scotland. The fills were now regarded as a threat to the vessels because of shrinkage and cracking and a method of removal had to be found.
However, they consisted of a type of picture frame 'compo' made from animal glue, linseed oil and rosin which was very resistant to all the usual solvents. Helen worked on the use of enzymes to soften the fills so that they could be removed more easily by hand.