A Conservation Primer: Caring for Historic Furniture

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Do you have historic furniture in your collection? What is the best way to take care and preserve your furniture pieces? This webinar will address small museum collections and the Do’s and Don’ts of furniture care. In addition, the role of the furniture conservator in the care and conservation of historic furniture and wooden artifacts will be considered. How can a furniture conservator help you to take better care of your collection? Topics will include how furniture conservators examine objects, what they look for and how they formulate intervention strategies. Tips on surface examination techniques, deciphering patina and identifying past interventions will be discussed. Wood Identification basics will be outlined, with an overview of techniques and tips on taking samples.

Presenter:

Tad Fallon grew up around art and antiques. He worked in the family business, Copake Auctions Inc., before college. In 1991, after beginning college as a studio art major, he entered the Fashion Institute of Technology’s Restoration program in New York City and studied decorative arts restoration. After graduation, he worked at Sotheby’s Restoration as a supervisor in the Finishing Department. In 1996, he was accepted to the Smithsonian Institution’s graduate Furniture Conservation Training Program, and later from 1999-2000, Tad served a graduate internship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Sherman Fairchild Center for Objects Conservation. He holds a certificate of completion from the Smithsonian Institution and an MA in Conservation from Antioch University, in Yellow Springs, Ohio. In 2000, he formed a business partnership with fellow Smithsonian classmate Randy Wilkinson to open the private conservation practice Fallon & Wilkinson, LLC, where he specializes in the treatment and research of both historic and modern surfaces, colorants, and coatings.

Tad has been an active member of AIC and the Wood Artifacts Group (WAG) since 1997. He has been a frequent presenter at the annual meetings. He participated in the WAG sponsored 2000 Furniture in France study trip, as well as the 2006 French-American Partnership. In 2013 and 2014, he developed and organized the WAG “Airbrushing for Conservators” workshops and served as the 2014-2015 WAG program chair. He is currently the 2015-2016 WAG chair.

 

Recorded: Thursday, January 14, 2016
Duration: 1 Hour 32 minutes

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