A death

Hans Peder Pedersen, former rector of the School of Conservation of
the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen (recently merged
into The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Schools of Architecture,
Design and Conservation) died on 20 September 2011, aged 79.

He originally received training as a gardener, and a military career
led to becoming an assistant conservator in the archive of the
Danish Army in 1961, eventually specialising in the conservation of
manuscripts. He transferred to the Danish National Archive in 1967,
and became Head of Conservation of the Danish National and District
Archives in 1969. He taught paper restoration at the newly founded
School of Conservation, and became section head for Graphic Arts. He
was very much involved in the assistance offered 1968-78 to the City
of Florence after their Alluvione in November, 1966.

1980-86 and again 1992-96 he was the rector of the School of
Conservation and was a major driving force in defining conservation
science in Denmark and bringing it into a scientific context. This
was a major task, because the School of Conservation was under the
auspices of the Ministry of Culture, not the Ministry of Education.
He started a specialisation in photographic conservation and later
in the conservation of media for recorded sound, moving images, and
data, both in the department for Graphics Art, as well as two
completely new departments: monumental art and natural history
conservation. In 1996 he took retirement but continued to work and
publish on paper-historical subjects.

H.P., as he was affectionately called, displayed a unique ability to
see context in conservation matters, even where there had been
traditionally none, and his inspirational style of leadership was
memorable. For his pioneering work he was renowned far outside
Denmark.

George Brock-Nannestad
former Reader in the Conservation
of media for recorded sound, moving images, and data


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 25:21
                 Distributed: Monday, October 24, 2011
                       Message Id: cdl-25-21-001
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