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

APPENDIX B
IV. AREA MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY
COUNCILS
Eight local organisations, known as Area Museum and Art Gallery
Councils, covering the whole of England, Scotland and Wales, provide
services such as conservation, display, temporary exhibitions,
cataloguing etc., on a cooperative basis for those museums and galleries
which cannot economically maintain their own; and, on occasion,
for areas without museums. They are financed by subscription
from local government and other museum authorities in each case
and, since 1963-64, have received a Government grant of up to
fifty per cent, of their annual expenditure on these services. They
charge the participating museums and galleries for their services,
but in some cases, notably in the conservation of high quality objects
owned by small museums which cannot afford an economic fee, the
work is done at the expense of the Area Museum and Art Gallery
Council.
Conservation is undertaken of objects of art, archaeology and natural
history, but not all the Area Councils provide conservation in all
three branches; and their priorities are governed by the needs of
the museums in their areas. Four Area Councils, the South West,
the Midlands, the North West and the South Eastern, provide specifically
fine art conservation services for their own areas, and, on
occasion, if their capacity allows, for a neighbouring area. In the
North of England, Yorkshire and Humberside, Scotland and Wales,
other services have taken priority, but Yorkshire and Humberside,
by arrangement, calls on the fine art conservation service of the
North West based in Manchester, and the needs of the smaller
Welsh museums can be satisfied by their long-standing affiliation to
the National Museum of Wales.
The existing establishments are as follows:
South West 2 Restorers TS
Midlands i Restorer APIV
An independent restorer is also retained
on contract
North West i Senior Restorer APII/IV
i Assistant Restorer APII/IV
i Technical Assistant TIV
South Eastern 2 Restorers APIV, APIII
All the Area Museum Councils complain of the inadequacy of their
establishments and of the difficulty of filling the posts.
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