A death--addendum

A Death

The conservation profession has lost one of its giants with the
passing of Nathan Stolow.   Born on May 4, 1928 in Montreal, Quebec,
he died October 28, 2014 in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Dr. Stolow received a B.S. in Chemistry from McGill University,
Montreal, in 1949 and graduated from the University of Toronto in
1952 with an M.A. in Theoretical Chemistry.  Having decided on a
career in the nascent field of art conservation, he studied with
Professor Stephen Rees-Jones at the Courtauld Institute of Art,
University of London and completed a Ph.D. in 1956 with a
dissertation entitled Some investigations of the action of solvent
on drying oil films.  Stolow was primary in the creation of several
major conservation organizations.  In 1957 he established the
Conservation and Scientific Research Division of the National
Gallery of Canada and was the founding Director General of the
Canadian Conservation Institute in 1972.  From 1958 to 1982, he held
many leadership positions on the International Council of Museums.
>From 1982 to 1984, he was Senior Curator, Conservation Department,
at the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.  Dr. Stolow was
responsible for the formation of the Conservation Department at the
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Williamsburg, Virginia in 1984 and
was the Foundation Conservator until 1987.  He remained active as an
international conservation consultant until his death.

His accomplishments include an extensive list of publications and
the seminal volumes On Picture Varnishes and Their Solvents,
co-authored by Robert Feller and Elizabeth Jones in 1971, and
Conservation and Exhibitions: Packing, Transport, Storage, and
Environmental Considerations, in 1987.  He was instrumental in the
design and implementation of singular preservation encasements for
the Magna Carta, the U.S. Bill of Rights and the Declaration of
Independence, exhibited at the National Archive and Records
Administration, and devised state-of-the-art housing for the
Gettysburg Address, the Virginia Declaration of Human Rights and the
Irish Book of Kells displayed at the Library of Congress.

Dr. Stolow's towering intellect and relentless curiosity
immeasurably advanced the field of conservation science, and he will
be remembered for his extraordinary contributions to the
conservation profession and the cultural heritage community.

Pamela J. Young
Conservator of Paper
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Williamsburg, Virginia 23187
757-565-8761


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 28:28
                 Distributed: Friday, December 12, 2014
                       Message Id: cdl-28-28-002
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