Conservation

Conservation
Case Studies
Artists Documentation Program
Conservation Fellows
Lectures
Publications
News

Founded in 2001, the Whitney’s conservation department preserves works of art in the Museum’s collection so that they may be exhibited and made accessible to scholars and the general public. From the outset, it was designed to be both a treatment and research center; it embraces innovative approaches to the treatment and technical study of works of contemporary and modern art. Conceived as a partner with the Center for the Technical Study of Modern Art at the Harvard Art Museums, it shares in the Center’s dissemination of information through teaching, lecturing, and publication.

Watch: Conserving Calder’s Circus

Whitney conservators Carol Mancusi-Ungaro and Eleonora Nagy, archivist Anita Duquette, and art historian Joan Simon describe the process of restoring one of the most beloved works in the Whitney’s collection, Calder’s Circus.

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Carol Mancusi-Ungaro

Whitney Stories

Associate director for conservation and research Carol Mancusi-Ungaro discusses the importance of the artist’s voice in contemporary art conservation, and shares plans for the conservation studio at the new Whitney, opening in spring 2015.

Whitney Stories

When Matthew Skopek began working as a conservator at the Whitney in 2006, Franz Kline’s Mahoning (1956) was installed as part of a permanent collection exhibition at the Museum. Ever since viewing the painting seven years ago, he wanted to restore it.

Case Studies

The conservation department makes and implements decisions regarding treatments through constant review of the collection, and in response to requests to display specific works. The goal of every treatment is to present the work as originally intended insofar as we know through artist interviews and other avenues of research. In some cases, works that are known to be unstable are considered for treatment regardless of exhibition priorities.

Arshile Gorky

These two paintings by Arshile Gorky, The Artist and His Mother, 1926–36 (left), and Painting, 1936–37 (right), were treated in preparation for inclusion in a retrospective of the artist’s work. Surface grime and discolored varnish had formerly obscured the original colors and altered the variation in gloss and saturation as intended by the artist. Some passages of Painting were structurally unstable and required local consolidation before travel. Freed from temporary disfigurements, the newly restored paintings engender a greater understanding of Gorky’s materials and painting technique.

Claes Oldenburg

Both Whitney staff and artist Claes Oldenburg had long considered Ice Bag–Scale C problematic. Technical problems had plagued the giant mechanized sculpture since shortly after its creation in 1971. In consultation with the Oldenburg, a team of conservators, engineers, and other specialists corrected mistakes that had been made in both its initial fabrication and in later attempts at restoration. The piece now operates as the artist had intended for the first time in decades. This innovative treatment was discussed by The New York Times on May 15, 2009.

Edward Hopper

In 1909 Edward Hopper painted these paintings, Bridge on the Seine (left) and Le Pont Royal (right), while living in Paris. Over time, accumulated dirt and discolored varnish had obscured the paint layers. In addition, the varnish that had been applied was felt to be too glossy and out of keeping with the sensitive tonality of the paintings. Removal of these layers revealed the true colors of the brighter palette that Hopper was developing at this time, and the application of a more sympathetic layer of varnish resulted in a more appropriate surface. The treatment of these Hopper works was done in conjunction with ongoing research within the Whitney’s collection into the artist’s materials and technique.

Donald Judd

Donald Judd’s Untitled, 1965, had been severely altered due to an inappropriate repainting of the piece at some point in the past, prompting Judd to declare it unexhibitable.

George Segal

All three of the Whitney’s George Segal sculptures—The Bus Station, 1965 (left),Walk, Don’t Walk, 1976 (middle), and Girl in a Doorway, 1965 (right)—have required treatment for a variety of reasons over time. Recently, the figures were stabilized, minor surface grime was reduced, and the proper alignment of the forms within their formats was researched and documented. Despite sundry individual problems, they were treated as a group because a unity of vision and goals during the undertaking positively impacted the result.

Artists Documentation Program

Carol Mancusi-Ungaro interviewing Ed Ruscha in front of Large Trademark with Eight Spotlights (1962), part of the Whitney’s permanent collection. Photograph by Heather Cox

The Artists Documentation Program (ADP) interviews artists and their close associates in order to gain a better understanding of their materials, working techniques, and intent for conservation of their works. The ADP was established in 1990 at The Menil Collection, Houston, by Carol Mancusi-Ungaro, the former chief conservator at the Menil and currently associate director for conservation and research at the Whitney and founding director of the Center for the Technical Study of Modern Art at the Harvard Art Museums. The program is supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and in partnership with the Whitney Museum of American Art and Harvard Art Museums.

Visit the ADP website

Conservation Fellows

Conservation Fellows is a support group that focuses on the Whitney’s research involving artists’ materials and techniques. Participants engage in ongoing discussions regarding trends and challenges specific to the preservation of works included in current exhibitions or unconventional works of art in the Whitney’s collection.

Carol Mancusi-Ungaro discusses Number 27 (1950) by Jackson Pollock

September 16, 2014
Art as Process: Jeff Koons
Led by Scott Rothkopf, Joshua Rosenblatt, and Margo Delidow

January 23, 2014
Art as Process: Visit and Tour of Donald Judd’s Studio
Led by Eleonora Nagy

September 17, 2013
Art as Process: Hopper Drawing
Led by Carter Foster and Matthew Skopek

May 6, 2013
Art as Process: Looking at Jay DeFeo: A Retrospective through the lens of artist and conservator
Led by Carol Mancusi-Ungaro

April 10, 2012
A Spotlight on Conservation: Conserving Calder’s Circus
Led by Carol Mancusi-Ungaro, Eleonora Nagy, Joan Simon, and Anita Duquette

March 22, 2011
A Spotlight on Conservation: Singular Visions
Led by Carol Mancusi-Ungaro and Scott Rothkopf

November 8, 2010
A Spotlight on Conservation: Paul Thek
Led by Eleonora Nagy

May 11, 2010
Dialogues on Materiality: In Conversation with Artist Dario Robleto
Led by Carol Mancusi-Ungaro and Dario Robleto

March 31, 2010
Dialogues on Materiality: Conserving the Whitney Biennials
Led by Carol Mancusi-Ungaro

October 26, 2009
Dialogues on Materiality: Presenting Georgia O’Keeffe
Led by Carol Mancusi-Ungaro and Dale Kronkright

May 12, 2009
Restoring a Twelve-Foot Ice Bag
Led by Carol Mancusi-Ungaro and Eleonora Nagy

April 6, 2009
Mark Rothko’s Mural Commissions
Led by Carol Mancusi-Ungaro

November 12, 2008
Encountering Jackson Pollock
Led by Carol Mancusi-Ungaro

May 21, 2008
The Lure of the Object: 2008 Biennial
Led by Carol Mancusi-Ungaro and Matthew Skopek

February 26, 2008
An Investigative Eye into the Practice of Jackson Pollock and Donald Judd
Led by Carol Mancusi-Ungaro, Narayan Khandekar, and James Martin

Lectures

Cues from Cy Twombly
April 17, 2013 at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University
Lecture presented by Carol Mancusi-Ungaro, the Institute of Fine Art’s Judith Praska Distinguished Visiting Professorship in Conservation and Technical Studies

Twenty Years of documenting the Artist’s Voice
March 7-8, 2013 at the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, New York
Carol Mancusi-Ungaro is a key speaker at the International Network for the Conservation of Contemporary Art – North America (INCCA-NA) Artist Interview Methodology Workshop

Conversation about Barnett Newman
September 24, 2011 at the Rothko Chapel, Houston, Texas
Lecture presented by Carol Mancusi-Ungaro related to the history, presence and preservation of Newman’s sculpture Broken Obelisk, which stands in a reflecting pool south of the Rothko Chapel’s main entrance

The Elusive Original
February 22, 2011 at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University
Carol Mancusi-Ungaro spoke as part of the Daniel H. Silberberg Lecture Series program

Barnett Newman
October 16, 2010 at the Kawamura Memorial Museum of Art
Carol Mancusi-Ungaro lectured about Barnett Newman and the discoveries made during the process of compiling his catalogue raisonne

Collection Documentation Initiative: Conservators’ Perspective
September 18, 2010 at the Western Association for Art Conservation, Seattle, WA
Whitney contract conservators Claire Gerhard and Megan Berkey presented a paper at WAAC’s annual meeting with an overview of their 3-year project reviewing the Whitney’s17,000 works of art on paper and photographs

Is Art Timeless?
April 22, 2010 at Smith College, Northampton, MA
Carol Mancusi-Ungaro gave a lecture at the symposium “Telling Time: It’s Meaning and Measurement”

The Ultimate Painting
September 13, 2009 at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Panel co-moderated by Carol Mancusi-Ungaro as part of the symposium, “Imageless: The Scientific Analysis and Experimental Treatment of an Ad Reinhardt Black Painting”

Artist’s Voice: History’s Claim
January 24–16, 2008 at the Getty Center in Los Angeles
Panel moderated by Carol Mancusi-Ungaro as part of “The Object in Transition: A Cross-Disciplinary Conference on the Preservation and Study of Modern and Contemporary Art”

Encountering Newman
January 24–16, 2008 at the Getty Center in Los Angeles
Lecture presented by Carol Mancusi-Ungaro and Yve-Alain Bois as part of “The Object in Transition: A Cross-Disciplinary Conference on the Preservation and Study of Modern and Contemporary Art”

Modern Paints Uncovered Symposium
May 16–19, 2006 at the Tate Modern in London
Narayan Khandekar presented research done by a team of Whitney conservators and Harvard scientists on the Whitney’s Donald Judd, Untitled, 1965

Publications

Cues from Cy Twombly
By Carol C. Mancusi-Ungaro in Cy Twombly Gallery, The Menil Collection (Houston, TX, 2013).

Disfiguring organic residues on industrially produced sheet metal coupons simulating copper and brass works of art by Donald Judd
By Eleonora E. Nagy; Karlis Adamsons; Kate Moomaw in Studies in Conservation (January 2013).

When Material Becomes Art
By Carol C. Mancusi-Ungaro in Jay DeFeo: A Retrospective, Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, NY, 2012).

Landmarks Preservation: Conserving the Monochrome
By Carol Mancusi-Ungaro in Artforum (Summer 2011).

Treatment of Claes Oldenburg’s Ice Bag—Scale C, An Interdisciplinary Approach
By Eleonora E. Nagy, Steven Berger, Ken Parker, Vladimir Schuster, Julian Miller, Jan Girard, and Carol Mancusi-Ungaro in International Council of Museums, Committee for Conservation, 16th Triennial Conference Abstract (Lisbon, Portugal, 2011).

Le Pèlerinage en Peinture de Barnett Newman
By Carol C. Mancusi-Ungaro. in Barnett Newman Écrits, Éditions Macula (Paris, France, 2011).

Delicate Matter: Two Conservation Case Studies on the Work of Paul Thek
By Eleonora E. Nagy with an introduction by Carol Mancusi-Ungaro in Paul Thek: Diver, A Retrospective, Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, NY, 2010).

A Technical Analysis of Three Paintings Attributed to Jackson Pollock
By Narayan Khandekar, Carol Mancusi-Ungaro, Harry Cooper, Christina Rosenberger, Katherine Eremin, Kate Smith, Jens Stenger and Dan Kirby in Studies in Conservation; The Journal of the International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works. Volume 55, Number 3 (London, England, 2010).

Golden MSA Colors
By Matthew Skopek in Painting Conservation Catalogue, Volume III: Inpainting, American Institute of Conservation, 2009.

A Sum of Corrections
Carol C. Mancusi-Ungaro in Jasper Johns: An Allegory of Painting, 1955-1965, National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C., 2007).

Material and Process: Gordon Matta-Clark’s Object Legacy
By Christian Scheidemann in Gordon Matta-Clark: You are the Measure, Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, NY, 2007).

The Re-restoration of Donal Judd’s Untitled, 1965
By Narayan Khandekar, Eleonora E. Nagy, Julian Miller, Pia Gottschaller, and Carol Mancusi-Ungaro in Modern Paints Uncovered, The Getty Conservation Institute (Los Angeles, CA, 2006).

Calder’s Once and Future Circus: A Conservator’s Perspective
By Eleonora Nagy and Carol C. Mancusi-Ungaro, in Alexander Calder: The Paris Years, 1926–1933, Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, 2008).

The Rothko Chapel Paintings: A Personal Account
By Carol C. Mancusi-Ungaro, in Image of the Not-Seen: Search for Understanding, The Rothko Chapel Art Series, The Rothko Chapel (Houston, 2007).

Marden’s Materiality: The Monochromes
By Carol C. Mancusi-Ungaro, in Plane Image: A Brice Marden Retrospective, The Museum of Modern Art (New York, 2006).

Material and Method
By Narayan Khandekar, Eleonora Nagy, Julian Miller, Pia Gottschaller, and Carol C. Mancusi-Ungaro, in "Modern Art: A Collaborative Challenge” in Scientific Examination of Art: Modern Techniques in Conservation and Analysis, National Academy of Sciences (Washington, D.C. 2005).

In Search of Permanence: Oscar Bluemner’s Materials and Techniques
Ulrich Birkmaier, in Oscar Bluemner: A Passion for Color, Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, 2005).

The Paintings of Barnett Newman: “Involved Intuition on the Highest Level”
By Carol C. Mancusi-Ungaro, in Barnett Newman: A Catalogue Raisonné, The Barnett Newman Foundation and Yale University Press (New York, 2004).

Embracing Humility in the Shadow of the Artist
By Carol C. Mancusi-Ungaro, in Personal Viewpoints: Thoughts on Painting Conservation, The Getty Conservation Institute (Los Angeles, 2003).

Time and Change: A Discussion about the Conservation of Modern and Contemporary Art
By Carol Mancusi-Ungaro, Jim Coddington, and Kurt Varnedoe, moderated by Jeffrey Levin in Conservation: The Getty Conservation Institute Newsletter. Volume 17, Number 3 (Los Angeles, 2002).

Jackson Pollock: Response as Dialogue
By Carol C. Mancusi-Ungaro in Jackson Pollock: New Approaches, edited by Kirk Varnedoe and Pepe Karmel, Museum of Modern Art (New York, 1999).

Material and Immaterial Surface: The Paintings of Rothko
By Carol C. Mancusi-Ungaro, in Mark Rothko, National Gallery of Art (Washington DC, 1998).

Nuances of Surface in the Rothko Chapel Paintings
By Carol C. Mancusi-Ungaro, in Mark Rothko: The Chapel Commission, The Menil Collection (Houston, 1996).

In the News

Audio: “Conserving Digital Art”
—WNYC, The Leonard Lopate Show

“Material & Method in Modern Art”
—NYU Institute of Fine Arts, Newsgram Issue 28

“Retter für Kaputte Kunst”
—GEO Magazin

Audio: “After Decades In Storage, Damaged Rothko Murals Get High-Tech Restoration”
—NPR, All Things Considered

Video: “Restoring Rothko”
—Tate

Video: “Using Science to Preserve Art”
—The New York Times

“The Improvised Remedies of an Art Healer”
—The New York Times

“Art Pick: Tale of the Tape”
—The New Yorker

“A Low Cost Show Reinflates a Big Bag”
—The New York Times

“Going Softly Into a Parallel Universe”
—The New York Times

“With a Coat of New Paint, Revealing the True Judd”
—The New York Times

“‘What Happens when I die?’ The Whitney Museum is interviewing artists on video to document their instructions for the conservation of their art"
—The Art Newspaper (International Edition), October 2006

“Chiedere agli artisti come conservare le loro opre d’arte”
—la Repubblica/The New York Times

“Giving the Artists a Voice in Preserving Their Work”
—The New York Times

Replication Committee

The Replication Committee addresses issues related to the duplication of works of art in the permanent collection and/or related collections for various purposes associated with the Museum’s program. It meets monthly to discuss pressing issues of replication and associated matters of refabrication, exhibition copies, and authentication. The intent is to institute a more rigorous and consistent approach in terms of policy and practice through critical review of precedent within the institution with an eye toward resolution of current issues.

Support Conservation

To make a contribution to the Conservation Department, please call (212) 570-3642.

Support for Conservation at the Whitney Museum of American Art is provided by the Tianaderrah Foundation and by members of the Whitney’s Artists Council.

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Conservation

Watch: Conserving Calder’s Circus

Carol Mancusi-Ungaro

Whitney Stories

Conserving Franz Kline’s Mahoning

Whitney Stories

Case Studies

Arshile Gorky

Claes Oldenburg

Edward Hopper

Donald Judd

George Segal

Artists Documentation Program

Conservation Fellows

Lectures

Publications

In the News

Replication Committee

Support Conservation