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

TRAINING IN THE CONSERVATION OF PAINTINGS
advanced training, practical as well as theoretic; and that it must
therefore be an institution in which conservation of important works
of art is carried on by first-class restorers for its own sake. It also
follows that this must be the central point of reference, study and
authority, the Central Institute of Conservation, with a library,
archive, photographic records and publications, of which we indi
cated the urgent need at the outset of our enquiry (paragraph 25).
This therefore is the kind of institution which we recommend.
77. We are convinced of the need of such an institute, for the preservation
and dissemination of knowledge; and we have no doubt
of the practical value which it would have for restorers and for
curators generally. We are also convinced that institutions and private
collectors alike would make ready use of the conservation service
it would provide. We should expect it, as a conservation studio,
to have equal status with the conservation departments of the
national institutions, and we would not expect it to be short of work.
Indeed it would probably have to use a system of priorities in accepting
work, based on its importance and urgency, as does the Brussels
Institute.
Location
78. We have naturally sought to decentralise the location of the
Conservation Institute but were influenced by several factors; the
necessity for continuous contact with the curatorial staffs of the
national institutions, the presence of restorers who might be employed
as teachers, the presence of an adequate supply of high quality
material, the availability of specialist scientific expertise and equipment
and the presence of a well-established art history library.
These considerations led the Committee to the conclusion that
Central London must be the location, and indeed that convenient
contact with the National Gallery Scientific Department localised
still more closely the area appropriate for a Conservation Institute.
Relation of the Central Institute to a National Museum or Gallery
79. Here, again, we have thought it right to consider whether, in its
own interest or in that of economy, it should not be more or less
closely attached to some existing institution; and we again considered
the conservation departments of the national institutions.
Such an attachment might enable the students to profit, not only
from the work in progress within the Conservation Institute itself,
but also from the work which would be continually taking place in
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