Exploring Art Conservation: High School Students Get Hands-On with The Phillips Collection

Students from Jackson Reed High School and Duke Ellington School of the Arts learn about art conservation.

Have you ever put your nose inches from an Impressionist masterpiece—unframed?

This year, that’s exactly what students from Jackson Reed High School and Duke Ellington School of the Arts did through an education program focused on conservation at The Phillips Collection. 

In the museum’s light-filled Sherman Fairchild Conservation Studio, Head of Conservation Elizabeth Steele placed Alfred Sisley’s 1874 oil painting Snow at Louveciennes under a microscope and invited students to look closely at Sisley’s brush strokes. As students took turns looking through the microscope, Steele asked questions: Is the paint surface uniform? Has the varnish yellowed over time? What did the students—many studio artists themselves—notice about Sisley’s choice of colors? While Steele showed images of the painting on her computer, one student was scared to get close to such an important painting. Seeing a spark in her eyes, Phillips Educator Carla Freyvogel whispered: “I’m scared to get close to an unprotected masterpiece too! I’ll summon the courage if you will.” Moments later, the verdict came: “This is amazing!”

Building on last year’s successful partnership with local high schools during Up Close with Paul Cezanne, which focused on two recently conserved works by Cezanne, this year’s program gave students an in-depth look at conservation as a career pathway in the arts. After leaving the studio, students met conservator Patricia Favero in the exhibition Breaking It Down: Conversations from the Vault. Favero demystified the process of becoming a conservator, showing students how they can combine skills in art history, science, and studio art in a dynamic career. Standing in front of Henri Matisse’s painting Studio, Quai Saint-Michel (1916), Favero explained how Matisse had painted over iron grillwork in the window that he originally included in the composition, which is now only visible in an infrared image. She then used infrared and x-ray images to show students exciting discoveries of an earlier painting and multiple changes by the artist hidden under Richard Diebenkorn’s Interior with View of the Ocean (1957). While some students focused on the similarities between Matisse and Diebenkorn’s compositions, others asked questions about the role of new technologies in conservation science. 

Ready to put their newfound knowledge to work, the students then tried their hands at being conservators in the museum’s art workshop. They used a variety of conservation tools to assess the condition of two damaged works of art, which are not part of the Phillips’s permanent collection. These study works—defaced by tears, splatters, inks and varnish tests—gave the students valuable hands-on experience. Students discussed which marks were intended by the artists and which were the result of later damages. As they documented their thoughts in condition reports, the student’s close looking, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills were evident. Each group shared their recommendations, detailing whether the work needed treatment and whether it could travel or be included in an exhibition. Unsurprisingly, both works were recommended for treatment!  

By engaging with museum professionals and participating in interactive activities, the students gained a deeper understanding of the role conservation plays in preserving cultural heritage. And, just as importantly, they could see how their specific skills could lead to a rewarding career in an art museum. After the students left, Phillips Educators found a piece of paper amid the loupes and tape measures. The students had left their contact information, eager to learn more about internships in art museums.