A death

In Memoriam
Agnes Timar-Balazsy, 1948-2001

ICCROM has learned with profound sorrow of the loss of a treasured
friend and colleague, Agnes Timar-Balazsy, head of the Faculty of
Object Conservation and of the Restorer Training Programs at the
Hungarian National Museum. She died on 22 March 2001 in Budapest
after a long illness. Agnes was a highly respected and much loved
member of the international conservation community.

Agnes' career in conservation started in 1966 as a conservator at
the Conservation Department of the National Centre of Museums in
Hungary. Her inquiring mind led her to studies in chemistry,
obtaining an MA degree in chemical engineering from the Budapest
Technical University in 1975. Throughout her life she carried out
research, obtaining a Ph.D. in 1997 on investigation of historical
dyes. She published extensively, consistently applying her solid
scientific knowledge to practical conservation concerns. Her
publication activities culminated in the landmark work "Chemical
Principles of Textile Conservation" (Butterworth-Heinemann, 1998),
co-authored with Dinah Eastop.

She was deeply involved in the development conservation education in
Hungary, being one of the key designers of the university-level
degree in conservation offered by the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts
and the Hungarian National Museum. She not only nurtured the
development of national professional identity, but built bridges to
the international community by organizing a variety of conferences
and training events in her country. In 1997, the international
ICCROM course on Scientific Principles of Textile Conservation was
hosted by her institute in Budapest. Agnes was a dedicated and
active member of various international professional associations.
Her contribution was especially marked within the ICOM Conservation
Committee, where she served as the coordinator of the Working Group
of Textiles between 1990 and 1996, and as a member of the Directory
Board since 1996, currently as a Vice Chairperson.

Agnes contributed greatly to ICCROM activities over the past 15
years. She was a member of ICCROM Council since 1994, and a member
of the Academic Advisory Committee since 1995. At the time of her
death she was a Vice-Chairperson of the ICCROM Council. She will be
remembered by hundreds of ICCROM participants as an exceptional
teacher at both international and regional courses in Rome as well
as in different parts of Africa, Europe and Latin America.

Agnes was committed to inter-disciplinary practice in conservation
and she paved the way to applied conservation science for colleagues
from various disciplines and diverse cultural backgrounds. Her
creative and poetic approach helped transform the way that science
is taught in conservation and her legacy will continue to inspire
ICCROM as well as the professional community worldwide.


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 14:54
                  Distributed: Friday, April 13, 2001
                       Message Id: cdl-14-54-001
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