Videos, Podcasts and Lectures

Spotlight on Conservation: Portable Micro-Environments for Art

Conservator John Griswold leads a series of videos examining complex conservation issues around some of the objects in the Norton Simon collections. In this video, Griswold explores using microclimate enclosures for preserving some of the most delicate and vulnerable works of art in the Norton Simon collections. The idea of sealing an artwork or precious artifact in a protective chamber away from harmful environmental agents is nothing new, but, in practice, has been fraught with challenges. Recent developments in specialized materials for stabilizing relative humidity, scavenging pollutants and maintaining tight seals have allowed art conservators to develop ingenious and remarkably flexible new approaches to safeguarding a range of objects, from early Renaissance panel paintings in transit to light-sensitive pastels by artists such as Edgar Degas and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec on long-term display.

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