A history of conservation

Studies in Conservation

Volumn 43, Issue 3, 1998, Pages 129-143

  Plenderleith, Harold J ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0005646597     PISSN: 00393630     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1179/sic.1998.43.3.129     Document Type: Article

References (90)

1. The footnotes, material inside square brackets and biographical data have been added by Andrew Oddy, who is grateful to numerous friends and colleagues who have helped to ferret out information.
2. This is the text of a lecture delivered at the British Museum on 23 November 1978. Dr Plenderleith was invited to give the lecture to celebrate his eightieth birthday. It has never been published and is printed here to mark the centenary of his birth on 19 September 1998. Harold Plenderleith died on 2 November 1997.
3. Friedrich Wilhelm Rathgen (1862-1942). RIEDERER, J., 'Friedrich Rathgen', Berliner Beiträge zur Archäometrie 1 (1976) 3-12; OTTO, H., 'Friedrich Wilhelm Rathgen', Berliner Beiträge zur Archäometrie 4 (1979) 42-112; GILBERG, M., 'Friedrich Rathgen: the father of modern archaeological conservation", JAIC 26(2) (1987) 105-120.
4. Friedrich Wilhelm Rathgen (1862-1942). RIEDERER, J., 'Friedrich Rathgen', Berliner Beiträge zur Archäometrie 1 (1976) 3-12; OTTO, H., 'Friedrich Wilhelm Rathgen', Berliner Beiträge zur Archäometrie 4 (1979) 42-112; GILBERG, M., 'Friedrich Rathgen: the father of modern archaeological conservation", JAIC 26(2) (1987) 105-120.
5. Friedrich Wilhelm Rathgen (1862-1942). RIEDERER, J., 'Friedrich Rathgen', Berliner Beiträge zur Archäometrie 1 (1976) 3-12; OTTO, H., 'Friedrich Wilhelm Rathgen', Berliner Beiträge zur Archäometrie 4 (1979) 42-112; GILBERG, M., 'Friedrich Rathgen: the father of modern archaeological conservation", JAIC 26(2) (1987) 105-120.
6. RATHGEN, F., Die Konservterung von Altertumsfunden, Handbücher der Königlichen Museen zu Berlin, Band 7, Berlin (1898).
7. RATHGEN, F., The Preservation of Antiquities, translated by G.A. AUDEN and H.A. AUDEN, Cambridge (1905).
8. The laboratory of the Königlichen Museen in Berlin was founded in 1888 and closed in 1943. Friedrich Rathgen, the first director, retired in 1927 and was succeeded by Carl Brittner (1883-1958). In 1975 the Staatlichen Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz founded a new conservation and archaeometry laboratory called the Rathgen- Forschungslabor.
9. CAYGILL, M.L., 'The protection of national treasures at the British Museum during the First and Second World Wars' in Materials Issues in Art and Archaeology III, edited by P.B. VANDIVER et al., Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings Vol. 267, Pittsburgh (1992) 29-40 with appendices pp 41-99.
10. Before 1975 the various curatorial departments at the British Museum each had their own conservation workshop.
11. Alexander Scott, FRS (1853-1947). Superintendent of the Davy-Faraday Laboratory of the Royal Institution 1896-1911: Director of Scientific Research at the British Museum 1920-38
12. Ernest Charles Padgham who retired in 1938. Padgham had been Scott's gardener and had worked in a laboratory for Sir Robert Mond.
13. Leonard Henry Bell, MBE (1906-78). He retired from the British Museum Research Laboratory in 1971 after 49 1/2 years' service
14. R.A. Mallet, MC.
15. This house is on the east side of the Museum block and has direct access to the British Museum from the back. It is still the home of the Department of Scientific Research (formerly the British Museum Research Laboratory).
16. Bloomsbury is the area of London in which the British Museum is situated.
17. Howard Carter (1873-1939). See JAMES, T.G.H., Howard Carter The Path to Tutankhamun, London (1992): REEVES, N., and TAYLOR, J.H., Howard Carter Before Tutankhamun, British Museum, London (1992).
18. Howard Carter (1873-1939). See JAMES, T.G.H., Howard Carter The Path to Tutankhamun, London (1992): REEVES, N., and TAYLOR, J.H., Howard Carter Before Tutankhamun, British Museum, London (1992).
19. Howard Carter (1873-1939). See JAMES, T.G.H., Howard Carter The Path to Tutankhamun, London (1992): REEVES, N., and TAYLOR, J.H., Howard Carter Before Tutankhamun, British Museum, London (1992).
20. Alfred Lucas, OBE (1867-1945). Director, Government Analytical Laboratories and Assay Office (later the Chemical Department), Egypt, 1912-23; chemist to the Department of Antiquities (1923-32), honorary chemist 1932-45. Author of Ancient Egyptian Materials, London (1926) (4th edn, with J.R. HARRIS, 1962) and Antiquities: Their Restoration and Preservation. London (1924). See BIERBRIER, M.J., Who Was Who in Egyptology (3rd edn, revised), Egypt Exploration Society, London (1995) 263.
21. Alfred Lucas, OBE (1867-1945). Director, Government Analytical Laboratories and Assay Office (later the Chemical Department), Egypt, 1912-23; chemist to the Department of Antiquities (1923-32), honorary chemist 1932-45. Author of Ancient Egyptian Materials, London (1926) (4th edn, with J.R. HARRIS, 1962) and Antiquities: Their Restoration and Preservation. London (1924). See BIERBRIER, M.J., Who Was Who in Egyptology (3rd edn, revised), Egypt Exploration Society, London (1995) 263.
22. Alfred Lucas, OBE (1867-1945). Director, Government Analytical Laboratories and Assay Office (later the Chemical Department), Egypt, 1912-23; chemist to the Department of Antiquities (1923-32), honorary chemist 1932-45. Author of Ancient Egyptian Materials, London (1926) (4th edn, with J.R. HARRIS, 1962) and Antiquities: Their Restoration and Preservation. London (1924). See BIERBRIER, M.J., Who Was Who in Egyptology (3rd edn, revised), Egypt Exploration Society, London (1995) 263.
23. Sir (Charles) Leonard Woolley (1880-1960). See also WOOLLEY, L., As I Seem 10 Remember, Shaftsbury and District Society and Museum (1962); WINSTONE, H.V.F., Woolley of Ur The Life of Sir Leonard Woolley, London (1990).
24. Sir (Charles) Leonard Woolley (1880-1960). See also WOOLLEY, L., As I Seem 10 Remember, Shaftsbury and District Society and Museum (1962); WINSTONE, H.V.F., Woolley of Ur The Life of Sir Leonard Woolley, London (1990).
25. Sir (Charles) Leonard Woolley (1880-1960). See also WOOLLEY, L., As I Seem 10 Remember, Shaftsbury and District Society and Museum (1962); WINSTONE, H.V.F., Woolley of Ur The Life of Sir Leonard Woolley, London (1990).
26. Sir Max Mallowan (1904-78), professor of Western Asiatic Archaeology, University of London (1947-62) and a Trustee of the British Museum (1973-78). See MALLOWAN, M., Mallowan's Memoirs, London (1977).
27. Sir Max Mallowan (1904-78), professor of Western Asiatic Archaeology, University of London (1947-62) and a Trustee of the British Museum (1973-78). See MALLOWAN, M., Mallowan's Memoirs, London (1977).
28. William Francis Grimes, CEE (1905-88). Director of the Museum of London 1945-56, Director of the Institute of Archaeology, London University, 1956-73.
29. Dame Kathleen Mary Kenyon (1906-78). Principal of St Hugh's College, Oxford, 1962-73, Trustee of the British Museum 1965-78; daughter of Sir Frederic Kenyon, sometime Director of the British Museum.
30. Margaret Binyon, daughter of the poet Lawrence Binyon who was Keeper of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum (1932-33), worked as a volunteer in the British Museum Research Laboratory for about five years until her marriage in 1933.
31. Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie (1890-1976), novelist: wife of Sir Max Mallowan.
32. Reprinted in Materials Issues in Art and Archaeology III, ed. P.B. VANDIVER et al. Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings Vol. 267. Pittsburgh (1992) 41-99.
33. Alfred Allinson Moss (1912-90) worked at the British Museum Research Laboratory 1939-40 and 1945-53. He was Keeper of Mineralogy at the British Museum (Natural History) 1968-74.
34. Harold Barker and Robert Organ.
35. Harold Barker joined the British Museum Research Laboratory in 1947 and became the first Keeper of Conservation 1975-79.
36. (Alfred Emil) Anthony Werner worked at the Scientific Department of the National Gallery 1948-54 and at the British Museum Research Laboratory 1954-75 (Keeper 1959-75). Chairman of the Pacific Regional Conservation Center at the Bernice P. Bishop Museum. Honolulu, 1975-82.
37. Robert Muller Organ worked at the British Museum Research Laboratory 1951-65. Chief (subsequently Director) of the Conservation Analytical Laboratory of the Smithsonian Institution. Washington DC. 1967-83.
38. ORGAN, R.M., Design for Scientific Conservation of Antiquities. London (1968).
39. PLENDERLEITH, H.J., The Preservation of Antiquities, Museums Association, London (1934): PLENDERLEITH, H.J., The Conservation of Prints, Drawings and Manuscripts, Museums Association, London (1937); PLENDERLEITH, H.J., The Preservation of Leather Book- Bindings, British Museum, London (1946).
40. PLENDERLEITH, H.J., The Preservation of Antiquities, Museums Association, London (1934): PLENDERLEITH, H.J., The Conservation of Prints, Drawings and Manuscripts, Museums Association, London (1937); PLENDERLEITH, H.J., The Preservation of Leather Book- Bindings, British Museum, London (1946).
41. PLENDERLEITH, H.J., The Preservation of Antiquities, Museums Association, London (1934): PLENDERLEITH, H.J., The Conservation of Prints, Drawings and Manuscripts, Museums Association, London (1937); PLENDERLEITH, H.J., The Preservation of Leather Book- Bindings, British Museum, London (1946).
42. PLENDERLEITH, H.J., The Conservation of Antiquities and Works of Art, London (1956): 2nd edn with A.E.A. WERNER, London (1971).
43. It was actually translated into Russian (1963). French (1966), Spanish (1967). Bulgarian (1971) and Italian (1986).
44. The retirement of A.E.A. Werner as Keeper of the Research Laboratory in 1975 prompted the Trustees of the British Museum to create a separate Department of Conservation and Technical Services, of which the first Keeper was Harold Barker, Michael Stanley Tite was appointed Keeper of the Research Laboratory.
45. Sir (Robert Eric) Mortimer Wheeler, MC. FBA (1890-1976). Hon. Director Institute of Archaeology. London University, 1934-41, Director General of Archaeology, India, 1944-48, Secretary of the British Academy 1949-68. Trustee of the British Museum 1963-73. See HAWKES, J., Mortimer Wheeler, Adventurer in Archaeology, London (1982).
46. Sir (Robert Eric) Mortimer Wheeler, MC. FBA (1890-1976). Hon. Director Institute of Archaeology. London University, 1934-41, Director General of Archaeology, India, 1944-48, Secretary of the British Academy 1949-68. Trustee of the British Museum 1963-73. See HAWKES, J., Mortimer Wheeler, Adventurer in Archaeology, London (1982).
47. See the articles by lone Gedye and Henry Hodges in Recent Advances in the Conservation and Analysis of Artifacts, ed. J. BLACK, London (1987).
48. Manuel de la conservation et de la restauration des peintures. Office International des Musées, Paris (1939).
49. Edward Waldo Forbes (1873-1969). Director of the Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Mass., 1909-44. See Edward Waldo Forbes. Yankee Visionary, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University (1971).
50. George L. Stout (1897-1978). Conservator at Fogg Art Museum 1929-47, Director and Conservator, Worcester Art Museum 1947-54, Director and Conservator, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston 1955-70.
51. Rutherford John Gettens (1900-74). Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, 1928-51. Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1951-68 (Head Curator, Technical Laboratory, 1961-68, Research Consultant, 1968-74) See Ars Orientalis 10 (1975) 194-205.
52. Rutherford John Gettens (1900-74). Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, 1928-51. Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1951-68 (Head Curator, Technical Laboratory, 1961-68, Research Consultant, 1968-74) See Ars Orientalis 10 (1975) 194-205.
53. William George Constable (1887-1976). National Gallery, London, 1923-28 and 1929-31, Director of the Courtauld Institute of Art, London University, 1931-37, Curator of Paintings at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts 1938-57.
54. PLENDERLEITH, H.J., 'Notes on technique in the examination of panel paintings', Technical Studies in the Field of the Fine Arts I(1) (1932) 2-7.
55. By Garland Publishing Inc., New York and London (1975).
56. GETTENS, R.J., and STOUT, G.L., Painting Materials: A Short Encyclopaedia, New York (1942); reprinted by Dover Publications Inc. (1966).
57. Sir Philip Hendy (1900-80). Director of the National Gallery, London, 1946-67.
58. HENDY, P., Foreword to An Exhibition of Cleaned Pictures (1936-1947), National Gallery, London (1947).
59. Norman Spencer Brommelle (1915-89). Picture restorer, National Gallery 1949-60, Keeper of Conservation at the Victoria and Albert Museum 1960-77, Director of the Hamilton Kerr Institute, University of Cambridge University, 1978-83; Secretary General of IIC 1957-64 and 1966-87, Vice President of IIC 1964-66 and 1987-89.
60. BROMMELLE, N., "Material for a history of conservation'. Studies in Conservation 2 (1956) 176-187.
61. Helmut Ruhemann (1891-1973). Chief Restorer of the State Galleries in Berlin, 1929-33, part-time lecturer at the Courtauld Institute of Art 1934-39, lecturer-in-charge of the Technology Department, Courtauld Institute of Art, 1946-51, consultant restorer at the National Gallery, 1946-71.
62. RUHEMANN, H., The Cleaning of Paintings. Problems and Potentialities, London (1968).
63. (Rosa) Joyce Plesters (Mrs Norman Brommelle) (1927-96). Scientific Department of the National Gallery. London. 1949-87.
64. (Francis) Ian (Gregory) Rawlins, CBE (1895-1969). Scientific Adviser to the Trustees of the National Gallery 1934-60; Secretary General of IIC 1950-57. Editor of Studies in Conservation 1951-58.
65. Report from the Select Committee on the National Gallery: together with the minutes of evidence, appendix and index, House of Commons, London (1850).
66. (Robert Howard) Carry Thomson. Scientific Adviser to the Trustees of the National Gallery 1960-85, Editor of Studies in Conservation 1959-67, President of IIC 1983-86, Honorary Fellow of IIC 1986.
67. See the National Gallery Technical Bulletin 1 (1977) et seq.
68. The Weaver Report on the Cleaning of Pictures in the National Gallery was initiated by the Trustees on 8 May 1947. The Report, dated 21 August 1947, was the work of J.R.H. Weaver (Chairman). G.L. Stout and P. Coremans (Report of a Committee of Confidential Inquiry into the Cleaning and Care of Pictures in the National Gallery. mimeographed). Extracts were published in Museum 3(2) (1950) 113-135.
69. IIC was actually founded in May 1950. but meetings and negotiations had been in train since 1946.
70. A. Malcolm Bell (1912-84). Honorary Fellow of IIC.
71. The founding Fellows of IIC were George Stout, Rutherford Gettens, Richard Buck. William Constable. Murray Pease. Ian Rawlins. Harold Plenderleith. Sir Wallace Akers, Helmut Ruhemann, Arthur Van Schendel and Paul Coremans.
72. GETTENS, R.J., and USILTON, B.M., Abstracts of Technical Studies in Art and Archaeology 1943-1952, Freer Gallery of Art Occasional Paper 2. Washington DC (1955).
73. Studies in Conservation Abstracts, subsequently IIC Abstracts, was published by IIC from 1955 to 1965 (Volumes 1-5).
74. Art and Archaeology Technical Abstracts (Vol. 6 el seq) was published by the Institute of Fine Arts. New York University 1966-83 and by the Getty Trust (subsequently by the Getty Conservation Institute) from 1983.
75. The IIC UK Group (now the United Kingdom Institute for Conservation) began publishing The Conservator in 1977. Before that, reports of meetings were typed, duplicated and distributed to members. A set of these may be consulted at the British Museum Department of Conservation Library or at the IIC office.
76. ARMITAGE, D., et al., Conservation in Museums and Galleries: A Survey of Facilities in the United Kingdom, UK Group of IIC. 1974: this was subsequently updated by M. CORFIELD et al. in The Surrey Conservation Facilities in Museums and Galleries, London (1989).
77. ARMITAGE, D., et al., Conservation in Museums and Galleries: A Survey of Facilities in the United Kingdom, UK Group of IIC. 1974: this was subsequently updated by M. CORFIELD et al. in The Surrey Conservation Facilities in Museums and Galleries, London (1989).
78. In 1997. regional groups are active in Scandinavia. The Netherlands, Austria, France, Japan, Greece and Spain. The groups in Mexico and Poland no longer exist, and the Canadian Group became independent in 1996.
79. The Scottish branch of the IIC-UK Group (now UKIC) became independent as The Scottish Society for Conservation and Restoration in 1975. It published first a Bulletin 1-11 (1983-89) and now a Journal 1 (1990) et seq.
80. Bulletin of the American Group [of IIC] 1-16 (1960-76); Journal of the American Institute for Conservation 16(2) (1977) et seq.
81. Bulletin of the American Group [of IIC] 1-16 (1960-76); Journal of the American Institute for Conservation 16(2) (1977) et seq.
82. Max Doerner (1870-1939) taught painting technique at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich 1911-38. Founded the Doerner Institute in Munich in 1938. Author of The Materials of the Artist and their Use in Painting. London (1935); revised London (1955).
83. Alexander Eibner (1862-1935) taught at the Technical University in Munich and laid the foundations in Germany for the scientific understanding of painting technique. Author of Entwicklung und Werkstoffe der Tafelmalerei, Munich (1928).
84. Angenitus Martinus de Wild (1899-1969). Author of The Scientific Examination of Pictures, London (1929).
85. Murray Pease (1903-64). Conservator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
86. Richard David Buck (1903-77). Department of Conservation and Technical Research, Fogg Museum. Harvard University. 1937-52. founding Director, Intermuseum Conservation Laboratory at Oberlin College, 1952-73, founding Director. Balboa Art Conservation Center. San Diego. 1974-77.
87. Paul Philippot, Director of ICCROM 1971-77.
88. Albert Philippot (1899-1974). Freelance restorer in Brussels who collaborated with the Institut Royal du Patrimoine Artistique. In 1953 he received the title 'Restaurateur de l'IRPA' by ministerial decree.
89. Sir Bernard Melchior Feilden. Director of ICCROM 1977-81.
90. In 1995 there were 91 member states.