Training in the Conservation of Paintings - Calouste Gulbenkian ...

i. Introductory
Terms of reference
1. Representations having been made during the past five years or
more to the Government and other authorities about the shortage
of fully qualified restorers of works of art, you invited us to consider
the desirability of establishing an institute for training in the conservation
of paintings and drawings; to consider the objects, size,
organisation, location and financial requirements of such an institute;
and to make recommendations.
2. We are aware that it was only after long discussion that the conservation
training which we were asked to consider was limited to
paintings and drawings; and it has been clear to us from the first
that there is also a pressing need for training in the conservation of
other works of art. Some authorities have represented to us that
there should be one unified policy to govern all the various branches
of conservation and that, as a step towards this aim, training in many
branches of conservation ought to be provided within the same institution.
It was, however, the conservation of paintings which immediately
concerned the Government at the time, and this was the
branch of the subject designated for our enquiry. But we have not
excluded the idea of a more comprehensive institute in our deliberations,
and we have in fact invited evidence from practitioners in
other fields, recognising that it might well be found that training in
the conservation of paintings and drawings would itself be enriched
by the inclusion, now or later, of training in a wider range of media
in the same institute.
3. We have also had it in mind that the scope of the institute we
recommend might, in time, widen in other directions; and we can
foresee important developments in the application of science and
technology. We are conscious that control of the environment, which
is vital to the preservation of works of art in a stable condition, has
not yet been mastered; and its possibilities may greatly influence
the future nature of the training which we have under consideration.
Although our recommendations are concerned with the immediate
future, they are made with a view to later development in ways which