Reunion
Weekend and Conference
"Educated at Winterthur: A Half Century of Achievement"
September 21-22, 2001
Keynote Address
The Winterthur Programs,
'51 to '01: Are We There Yet?
by
Charles F. Hummel (WPEAC '55)
(as
presented on September 21, 2001)
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(page 4) In 1973 a planning grant from the National Endowment for the Arts provided an opportunity to bring together representatives from conservation training programs, universities, and funding agencies at a conference designed to explore possibilities for cooperation and coordination of effort. By January 1974, funding to support the art conservation training program was made available from the Andrew W. Mellon, Kress, Crystal Trust, and Babcock foundations in addition to a major grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. The first six students were admitted to the program in July 1974. Peter Sparks served as director for the first six years of the Program. The program's goal is to train assistant conservators who, under the guidance of experienced conservators, are competent in restoring and conserving art objects, are familiar with analytical techniques used to characterize materials, and have a fundamental understanding of the chemical and physical properties of art materials. The first-year curricula calls for a broad introduction to conservation practices for materials used to fashion art objects. A second year of study provides concentrated apprenticeship in a chosen major discipline. Finally, practical work as an intern with a recognized, experienced conservator completes a student's training. A series of examinations designed to evaluate a student's development and progress are administered following each year of training. To obtain the degree of Master of Science with a certificate in art conservation, Fellows must complete a 68-credit-hour program of twelve courses including two eight-week summer work projects and an eleven-month internship, all over a period of three years. In the early 1980s, when Dr. William T. Alderson served as Director of the Art Conservation Program and the Museum Studies Program, this training program faced a severe funding crisis. The National Endowment for the Arts had severely cut back on its support of the program. Winterthur could not provide hard money from its budget. What had started with such great promise seemed about to disappear. Two factors were largely responsible for the program's survival. The University provided approximately $300,000 in hard money to support it, and Museum administration convinced Joyce Hill Stoner to resign her position as Winterthur's paintings conservator in order to assume the responsibilities of Associate Director of the Art Conservation Program at the University. When Dr. Alderson left to become director of Old Salem, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Mrs. Stoner became Director of the Program, serving in that capacity fifteen years to 1997. Under her leadership, a broader range of specialty subjects became available to the Fellows, and increased emphasis was placed on fundraising, preventive conservation, public outreach, and the application of scientific analysis and research. External peer reviews had been conducted between 1975 and 1995. A "blue ribbon" panel was formed by the Getty Conservation Institute and the National Institute for Conservation in 1983-84 to review all conservation training programs in the United States. As a result of that particular review, the excellent quality of the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation was recognized. Working with the University's Development Office, Joyce Hill Stoner and her staff snared two $500,000 challenge endowment grants from the Andrew Mellon and Getty Foundations. Those grants were matched. Deborah
Hess Norris, a WUDPAC graduate, succeeded Joyce Hill Stoner
as Director of the Program in 1997 and has worked tirelessly
to secure additional funding to stabilize this program and
assure its future continuation. Last year the Andrew Mellon
Foundation provided another endowment grant of $1,000,000 to
be matched over four years on a one-to-one basis and an
outright grant of $300,000 for fellowships and curricula
development initiatives. Most recently, challenge grant
awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and
other sources have brought additional endowment grants to a
total of $2.1 million, bringing total endowment funds to
more than $7 million. A three-year Preservation and Access
Grant from NEH in the amount of $250,000 will be used toward
the education and training of students majoring in objects,
textile, and furniture conservation. |
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 Joyce Hill Stoner, 1992 |
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