Reunion Weekend and Conference
"Educated at Winterthur: A Half Century of Achievement"
September 21-22, 2001

The Winterthur Programs, '51 to '01: Are We There Yet?
by Charles F. Hummel (WPEAC '55)
(as presented on September 21, 2001)

(page 3) II. Art Conservation Program [WUDPAC] Between 1964 and 1968, there was a growing perception at Winterthur and the University that both institutions had an opportunity to reestablish links between the arts and sciences. With Henry Francis du Pont's decision to fund the addition of a building to house library and conservation facilities, there came a unique opportunity to coordinate these related ideas. The plan adopted by the Board included use of conservation facilities for an expanded care-of-collections program; for a graduate training program in art conservation to complement the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture; and establishment of a regional conservation center to assist other institutions in the Delaware River Valley. Experience with actual use of the building proved the latter concept to be unfeasible. Accordingly, Charles van Ravenswaay, Director of Winterthur, and Arnold L. Lippert, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Delaware, appointed a joint planning and curricula committee in September 1968 chaired by William A. Mosher, head of the University's Chemistry Department. Other University faculty on the Committee were Richard D. Ewing and J. William Weaver. Winterthur was represented by Jonathan Fairbanks, Victor Hanson, and myself. A proposal for a program to train conservators was submitted in June 1969 for internal discussion and refinement by staff of both institutions. During the ensuing year, a realistic assessment was made of financial and staff costs necessary at both institutions in order to assure success of the proposed program. Economic recession in 1970 and 1971, changed financial conditions at Winterthur following the death of Henry Francis du Pont, and University recognition of the high costs involved in implementing and supporting a new graduate program resulted in temporary delay. The University, with Winterthur's cooperation, however, did implement an interdepartmental undergraduate program in Art History and Chemistry in Fall 1971, in order to better prepare undergraduates for future advanced training in art conservation. During 1972, Peter Sparks, administrator for the Chemistry Department, and I worked with staff and administrators at both institutions to develop curricula for a graduate program in art conservation and to explore funding possibilities. This effort was greatly encouraged by Nancy Hanks, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. Admission standards and core course requirements were developed in several drafts during 1972 and were refined to the point where they could be presented for critique by the training programs in existence at the Conservation Center, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University; Cooperstown Graduate Programs, State University of New York, Oneonta; and the Intermuseum Conservation Association, Oberlin, Ohio.

Charles van Ravenswaay, 1966/'67     Conservation fellows, 1976     "Now that's an enterprising art expert!"

 

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