Author: Sarah Barack

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A Closer Look: Displaying a Medical Model
Cooper Hewitt's mount maker discusses the challenges of displaying an object with a complex surface structure.
A Closer Look: Objects from Algae
When dealing with experimental materials, such as algae and other bioplastics, conservators must consider the benefits of display with potentially unexpected outcomes.
A Closer Look: Porcelain Restoration
Object conservators discuss how to repair chips in gilded porcelain
Year of Glass: Reflections of People & Cultures
As the 2022 International Year of Glass concludes, study of the medium prompts questions about human history and culture.
Year of Glass: Google Glass
In Google Glasses, glass interfaces with digital technology to augment the world around us.
Year of Glass: Picture in a Tube
Once a ubiquitous staple of home entertainment, CRT televisions were a technical marvel. Learn about the physics and engineering that made the transmitted moving image possible with the help of glass.
Year of Glass: Cooper Hewitt’s National Design Awards
Learn how the iconic National Design Awards trophies at made in glass.
Year of Glass: Wild Beasts in Glass
Artist Maurice Marinot translated the bold modern painting style of Fauvism into inventive glass objects.
Year of Glass: Old Glass in a New Light
An electron microscope and ultraviolet illumination can change what we know about the life of a glass object.
Year of Glass: Cut vs. Pressed
How do cut glass objects differ from those created using the innovation of pressed glass and what does this have to do with celery?
Year of Glass: Dutch Artistry
Written by Jasmine Keegan The United Nations has designated 2022 the International Year of Glass. Cooper Hewitt is celebrating the occasion with a yearlong series of posts focused on the medium of glass and museum conservation. Dutch glass artisans reached high levels of skill in ornamentation during the 18th century, as demonstrated in these beautifully decorated...
Year of Glass: Imitating the Ancient
Start the 2022 Year of Glass with a modern glassmaker inspired by ancient Roman models.
Conserving Silver-Leaf Mirrors
“Conserving Silver-Leaf Mirrors in a Surtout de Table at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.” Sarah Barack, Jessica Walthew, and Drew Anderson. ICOM-CC Glass and Ceramics Interim Meeting, London, England. September 5–7, 2019. Download a PDF of the presentation poster here (6.5 MB). Sarah Barack, Head of Conservation and Senior Objects Conservator, will be presenting the...
All that Glitters
“All that Glitters: Treatment and Technical Study of an Ormolu Surtout de Table at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum,” Sarah Barack, Jessica Walthew, and Jakki Godfrey. ICOM-CC Metals Interim Meeting, Neuchatel, Switzerland. September 2–6, 2019. Download a PDF of the presentation poster here (6.5 MB). Sarah Barack, Head of Conservation and Senior Objects Conservator,...
Conserving the Surtout de Table: Cut Glass
Written by Sarah Barack, Head of Conservation, Senior Objects Conservator Thanks to a generous gift from the Smithsonian Women’s Committee, Cooper Hewitt’s spectacular surtout de table centerpiece was the focus of a recent technical study and conservation treatment by the museum’s conservation department. In this series of posts, conservators will be sharing the results of...