Position at Freer and Sackler Galleries

Ten-Week Summer contract position
Paper Conservation Lab
Department of Conservation and Scientific Research
Freer and Sackler Galleries, Smithsonian Institution

The Freer and Sackler is accepting applications for a 10 week summer
contract for the treatment of photographs in the Archives
collections. This position is intended for a student or recent
graduate from a graduate conservation program with the aim of
providing the opportunity to gain further hands-on treatment
experience on a range of photographic materials.

The intended project includes treatment of photographs that were
determined to be highly significant for their artistic quality,
rarity, or historical importance to the institution; critically
vulnerable in their present condition; and having potential to be
brought to a condition of exhibition quality. The specific projects
are:

Treatment of four silver gelatin photographs (DOPs), ca. 1909, of
James McNeill Whistler's Peacock Room assembled in Freer's home in
Detroit that are mounted to crumbling supports. The four prints are
part of a unique series of photographs that document Whistler's
masterpiece in the Detroit gallery that Charles Freer had specially
built adjoining his house and form an important link in our
understanding the historical alterations to one of the Freer
Gallery's most iconic works.

Treatment of six albumen photographs, ca. 1870's, mounted to linen
and paper as a panorama Elphinstone Circle in Mumbai, India. Named
after a former British Governor of Bombay, Elphinstone Circle was
laid out in 1869, and completed in 1873, and was a symbol British
administrative preeminence. The photos are attributed to Raja Lala
Deen Dayal (1844 - 1910) a noted Indian photographer who was
employed by various Indian courts before opening a private studio in
1868.

Treatment of six albumen photographs, ca. 1870's, mounted to linen
as a panorama of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Israel. The Temple
Mount with al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock as seen from the
Mount of Olives across the Kidron Valley. The photographer unknown.

The successful applicant will work closely with the paper
conservator who is responsible for the American, Islamic and Indian
collections as well as the Archives and Library collections.  The
primary focus of this project is the research and treatment of the
photographs described above. There will also be the opportunity to
assist the paper conservator on ongoing projects in the lab as
needed.

Applicants must be recent graduates of or currently enrolled in a
recognized conservation program or have four or more years of
equivalent experience. Applicants must be fluent in spoken and
written English. There is funding of $4,000 for the ten week
position.  To apply please send the following by March 15, 2009:

    A letter of application expressing why you are interested in
    this opportunity and your future goals.

    A resume including basic biographical information with current
    address, telephone numbers, and email address, as well as
    conservation education and/or relevant experience or training.

    A portfolio including samples of treatment reports and
    photographic documentation.

    Contact information for two professional references (include
    address, phone, email).

All applications should be sent to:

            Emily Jacobson
            Paper and Photographs Conservator
            Smithsonian Institution
            Freer and Sackler Galleries, MRC 707
            PO Box 37012
            Washington, DC  20013-7012

Emily Jacobson
Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Paper and Photographs Conservator
202-633-0374
Fax: 202-633-9474


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 23:26
                Distributed: Wednesday, January 20, 2010
                       Message Id: cdl-23-26-029
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