Annual Art Conservation Clinic Remains Popular with Public

Local art collectors and institutional professionals have the opportunity to have their damaged books, historic paintings, and other artwork reviewed for possible conservation by the faculty and students in SUNY Buffalo State’s Art Conservation Department on Friday, September 27, during the annual Art Conservation Clinic.  

This reservation-only event has been full for weeks and speaks to the much-desired service that the graduate program provides to the community each year.

“The word is getting out that we can do high-quality conservation treatments,” said Patrick Ravines, associate professor and director of art conservation. “What we are doing is trying to save the past.”

Between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., individuals who have made appointments will flow into the north wing of Rockwell Hall to have everything from ceramic pieces to rare tapestries examined.

“People have an interest in both the resale values of their pieces and wanting to fix them up to pass on to their children and grandchildren,” Ravines said. 

Art conservation students conduct the examination, documentation, and treatment of the artifacts under faculty supervision for a fraction of the cost of a private conservator. Most conservation projects take at least a year to complete, sometimes two.

Not all submitted pieces will be accepted for treatment, however. Some are too big or too complex for the students to complete within the time they are in the program, Ravines said, adding, “If we can’t take on a project, we give the visitors a list of conservators in our area and the surrounding region.”