Contributions to the 5th AICCM Book, Paper and Photographic Materials Symposium. Editors: Prue McKay and Alana Treasure. Canberra, ACT: AICCM (Inc.), 2008.
Abstract
The busy private conservator encounters the mundane, the bizarre, the sad, the controversial, the ethically challenging, and the just plain humorous treatment issues on a routine basis. Like all professional conservators, private practitioners endeavour to abide by the codes of ethics and practice of the various major bodies representing professional conservators around the world. However, the added complication of providing a fee for service, where the client generally demands or expects obvious improvement, value for money and professional service, means that our treatments often have the potential to hover around ethical fringes, challenging the boundaries of the codes. This presentation is grounded in experience. It discusses the way Art & Archival has successfully negotiated its way around the challenges of providing a professional private conservation service while remaining commercially viable over many years. Case studies, anecdotes and examples of treatment episodes support the discussion. Ideas and tips for the new conservator are candidly discussed.