KOScott

[Mary Ballard <BallardM@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Kathryn Olivia Scott died peacefully in her home in the Murray Hill section of New York on Saturday, October 15, 2005. She was 95 years old. Born in Galesburg, Illinois, Miss Scott moved to Manhattan in the early 1930's.  After holding a variety of jobs and attending courses at the Arts Students League, she was given a carton of textiles by a dealer and collector of pre-Columbian art: he asked her to treat them, he didn't know anyone else with her ingenuity. Thus began her career in textile conservation. Her trademarks were to plan carefully and to seek the advice of the leading experts in whatever field she had a question: it might be the renowned Dr. Junius Bird or a superb surfactant chemist, but she would carefully find the best answer to what she needed to know. She went on to work on many fine textiles for a number of private and museums*in New York city and around the United States. Beginning in 1964, she was an Adjunct Associate Professor of Conservation at the Conservation Center, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, where she trained many American textile conservators in practice today. She leaves behind a niece and a nephew as well as many, many friends and admirers, all devoted to her. Burial is private; a memorial celebration is planned for sometime in the next few weeks. Mary Ballard and Rebecca Rushfield.