About

Photo of James B. Duke House c. 1910. Collection: George Grantham Bain. Repository: Library of Congress.

The historic James B. Duke House is the center of the Institute of Fine Arts’s art-historical functions, while the Steven Chan House accommodates the Conservation labs, classrooms, and world-class library, among other things. The Conservation students at the IFA are part of a  close-knit community within the larger Institute.

Although a two-year masters program is offered in Art History, those students enrolled in the Art-Conservation track complete three years of study in both Art History and Conservation, a one-year internship, and a masters thesis to earn a Dual M.A in the History of Art and Archaeology and an Advanced Certificate in the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works.

The Stephen Chan House, the home of the IFA’s illustrious Conservation Center!

The Institute enjoys both professional and physical proximity to one of the world’s largest and most significant repositories of art–the Metropolitan Museum of Art–as well as to the innumerable other museums and galleries of New York. In addition, the IFA has extensive international connections–most notably in the form of its annual archaeological digs. Students are encouraged to participate in excavations in Greece, Turkey, and Sicily as well as to study abroad in Florence at the historic Villa La Pietra!

By way of this blog, we hope to give our readers a sense of the coursework, research projects, lab work, and internship experiences the members of the IFA-CC Class of 2016 gains as we study together over the next 4 years.

We hope that this project will allow us to network within the growing sphere of Conservation Blogdom, to inform curious readers about the field, as well as to reach prospective students of the IFA’s program in Conservation.

To learn more about us, the Class of 2016, check out the ‘Class of 2016‘ link for our bios and professional interests.

As a prospective student of the IFA or the Conservation Center, you are welcome to visit our campus. But in the meantime, do feel free to contact us if you have any comments or questions from the Center’s newest incoming class. And thank you for reading!

~Kate Brugioni