about

Cooper Hewitt’s permanent collection includes more than 215,000 objects, which span thirty centuries and a wide variety of materials. The Conservation Department cares for and studies these pieces to ensure their preservation for today and into the future. Conservators provide expertise in the conservation of works on paper, textiles, and three-dimensional objects made of media ranging from brittle glass to pliable plastic. Sarah Barack, Head of Conservation and Senior Objects Conservator, offers a further introduction to the department.

Explore below the department’s work related to the museum’s collection and exhibitions and follow Cooper Hewitt’s Conservation Department on Instagram @cooperhewittconservation.

A Closer Look: Displaying a Medical Model
Cooper Hewitt's mount maker discusses the challenges of displaying an object with a complex surface structure.
Read Time
3 minutes
Posted By
Sarah Barack
Date
July 22, 2024
A Closer Look: Objects from Algae
When dealing with experimental materials, such as algae and other bioplastics, conservators must consider the benefits of display with potentially unexpected outcomes.
Read Time
5 minutes
Posted By
Sarah Barack
Date
June 6, 2024
A Closer Look: Porcelain Restoration
Object conservators discuss how to repair chips in gilded porcelain
Read Time
5 minutes
Posted By
Sarah Barack
Date
April 18, 2024
Evolving Digital Collections and Their Stewardship: Stamen’s Watercolor Maps
A curator, a conservator, and a designer discuss the continual maintenance of Watercolor Maps, a born-digital mapping tool in Cooper Hewitt's digital collection.
Read Time
7 minutes
Posted By
Jessica Walthew
Date
October 4, 2023
Synthetic Material Identification in Dorothy Liebes Textile Samples
In preparation for the exhibition "A Dark, A Light, A Bright: The Designs of Dorothy Liebes," textile conservators analyzed textile samples to better understand and care for the objects.
Read Time
5 minutes
Posted By
Kira Eng-Wilmot
Date
July 7, 2023
Four transparent, colorless glass vessels of different shapes but relatively similar sizes.
Year of Glass: Reflections of People & Cultures
As the 2022 International Year of Glass concludes, study of the medium prompts questions about human history and culture.
Read Time
3 minutes
Posted By
Sarah Barack
Date
December 21, 2022
Two glass vessels lit from above causing dramatic and intricate patterns of light and shadow to be cast around them.
Year of Glass: 3D-Printed Glass
Neri Oxman's 3D-printed GLASS series may contain answers for the future of the medium and its use.
Read Time
5 minutes
Posted By
Jessica Walthew
Date
December 9, 2022
Close-up view of the back of a wooden chair, a rectangular shape with concave edges and, embedded into it on deer hide, glass beads in white, brown, blue, red, green, and orange forming graphic abstract shapes.
Year of Glass: Contemporary Native American Beadwork
Teri Greeves embellishes traditional woodwork with glass beads to celebrate her Kiowa culture and ancestry.
Read Time
5 minutes
Posted By
Cynthia Trope
Date
November 30, 2022
Glass table formed by a circular top on tripod base composed of three angled, oval legs. Glass iridizes and changes color depending on angle of view.
Year of Glass: Specialty Glasses with Special Effects
Laminated glasses have many practical and aesthetic uses, and, when combined with modern applications of ancient technologies, can have dazzling effects.
Read Time
6 minutes
Posted By
Jessica Walthew
Date
October 27, 2022