2008 International Summer Work Projects

During the summer months Fellows in the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation complete summer work projects in conservation laboratories across the country and around the world. During the summer of 2008 five Fellows in the class of 2009 are interning abroad.

Louise Groll is interning at the Mauritshuis. Her work has included the examination, documentation, and analysis of three paintings all thought to be either by Rembrandt or from the school of Rembrandt; Praying Woman School of Rembrandt?, Study of an old woman copy after Rembrandt?, and Resting Travelers Rembrandt (school of?). Work has included photodocumentation, infrared analysis, ultra violet examination, and cross section analysis. It is hoped that findings from the examination and analysis will help to inform current discussions concerning the attribution of each painting. The analysis will also be included in the Rembrandt Mellon project which is aimed at creating a data base containing all analytical data concerning works by Rembrandt. This data base will eventually become available for researchers online.

Jessica Keister is interning at the Fotorestauratie Atelier C.C. von Waldthausen. She has been spending a large portion of time researching the British artists Gilbert & George in preparation for an extremely large treatment and reframing project. The Gilbert & George piece is ‘Shitty Naked Human World’ and is owned by the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. It consists of four large individual compositions, each made up of 36 large hand colored photographs.

Meghan McFarlane is in Sydney, Australia working on ethnographic objects at the Australian Museum. Through the careful examination, documentation, treatment, and study of Australian Aboriginal and Oceanic objects, Meghan hopes to gain a better familiarity with the materials and techniques used in these regions. In addition to her time at the Australian Museum, Meghan will also attend the Garma Festival of Traditional Culture in a remote location in the Northern Territory, where she will learn about and participate in aspects of Aboriginal culture.

Sharon Norquest is interning for a second summer at an archaeological site in Sardis, Turkey. Her primary project is working in a late Roman tomb to surface clean and stabilize wall paintings. In addition to working on the tomb, Sharon is conducting a small study of mortar compositions using micro-chemical spot testing, transmitted and polarized light microscopy. She is comparing the characteristics of mortars used on stone to mortars that were used for ancient fills.

Kate Wight is working on freshly excavated objects at the Athenian Agora, Athens’ ancient marketplace. Many beautiful pieces of pottery, metals and coins, glass, and carved bone objects pass through the Agora conservation lab where they are cleaned and treated before being catalogued and, eventually, published. Kate and the conservation team also participate in lifting fragile objects directly from the field, and work together with archaeologists and scholars to understand as much as possible about the recent finds.