I credit the strength of the liberal arts education I received at Carleton for giving me the diverse skills I require as an art conservator, specifically as a conservator of modern and contemporary painting. Graduate programs in conservation require knowledge of organic chemistry, art history, and a portfolio of artwork. As a studio art major at Carleton, specializing in printmaking, I could (at least) demonstrate my eye-hand coordination and color accuracy. I had a strong background in art history as was required of studio art majors at the time. I took many courses in the sciences including chemistry. As well, I curated an exhibition, wrote well, spent a year studying in Japan (my first trip out of the country) and took several semesters off to live in New York City.
I chose to be a studio art rather than an art history major because of my interest in the material nature of art. In the years immediately following graduation, I moved to New York City, interned at the Whitney Museum working for the curator of the 1983 Biennial, helped a Whitney Board member assemble a book on the Hudson River School of painting and was the office manager/grant writer for Bob Blackburn’s Printmaking workshop. I also interned at the paper lab at Cooper Hewitt Museum. I entered NYU’s Conservation Center at the Institute of Fine Arts in 1988 where I received an MA in art history and a diploma of conservation after four years. But, as was my pattern, I took a year off of graduate school to work in Mozambique, where my husband was stationed with UNICEF. There I worked with their Department of Museums to set up and train a collections care team. My involvement with that program lasted for twelve years.
My career since 1993 has included working in private practices around NYC, The Brooklyn Museum and MOMA. I was Associate Conservator at the Whitney when my family decided to relocate to Seattle in 2007. There I set up my own practice and worked as a contractor with the Seattle Art Museum. Presently-having returned full circle- I am back in Gotham working independently for the Whitney Museum.