Career choices

As a private paintings conservator, I work for ten or twelve small
museums in Florida.  I am convinced that I could set up shop in any
one of these museums and be busy with the paintings for years. Yet,
the total yearly conservation budget of the all museums that I work
for could not be more than $10,000. Funding any but minor
conservation work requires grants or budgetary strain for these
small (and medium sized) institutions. As I see it, the work is
there, but the money to support the care of art is lacking.  Though
the huge need for conservation and the abundant availability of
trained conservators should be a perfect match, financial issues
dictate otherwise.

The budgetary crisis in museums is our crisis.  We have all heard of
staff and budget cuts at museums around the country.  I think part
of our job is to help our professional organizations advocate more
effectively on the state and national level for funds to preserve
our national heritage.

Rustin Levenson
Florida Conservation Associates
Miami, Florida


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 17:50
                 Distributed: Tuesday, January 20, 2004
                       Message Id: cdl-17-50-004
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