about

Cooper Hewitt’s permanent collection includes more than 210,000 objects, which span thirty centuries and a wide variety of materials. The Conservation Department cares for and studies these pieces to ensure their preservation for today and into the future. Conservators provide expertise in the conservation of works on paper, textiles, and three-dimensional objects made of media ranging from brittle glass to pliable plastic. Sarah Barack, Head of Conservation and Senior Objects Conservator, offers a further introduction to the department.

Explore below the department’s work related to the museum’s collection and exhibitions and follow Cooper Hewitt’s Conservation Department on Instagram @cooperhewittconservation.

From the Dinner Table to Museum Display: Case Study of a Napkin
How textiles are stored greatly impacts their future condition. Creases created by folding textiles become deeply engrained; stress along these folds can create breaks in the fibers, eventually leading to tears; discoloration from light exposure, internal chemical degradation, and exposure to acidic environmental factors like wood furniture, non-archival paper, etc. intensifies along the exposed surfaces...
Read Time
4 minutes
Posted By
Kira Eng-Wilmot
Date
December 21, 2018
Conservation for Multisensory Engagement
The exhibition The Senses: Design Beyond Vision challenged Cooper Hewitt's conservation team in its innovative use of multisensory installations. Learn how conservators addressed specific object issues, including scratch-and-sniff wallpaper, pillows, and chocolate.
Read Time
4 minutes
Posted By
baracks
Date
October 15, 2018
Conserving the Surtout de Table: Gilt Metalwork
Conservators Jessica Walthew and Jakki Godfrey discuss their approach to cleaning and enlivening the gilt-metal features of Cooper Hewitt's surtout de table.
Read Time
4 minutes
Posted By
walthewj
Date
October 12, 2018
Protecting the Iridescent
Have you ever noticed shimmering rainbows floating along puddles in the road? This bright iridescence is created by oil floating on the water, and is caused by the way light interacts with itself as it travels through the oil film to the water below. We often refer to this phenomenon as interference colors (good explanation...
Read Time
3 minutes
Posted By
baracks
Date
August 14, 2018
Life in the Lab: Conservation at Cooper Hewitt
Cooper Hewitt’s permanent collection includes more than 210,000 objects, which together span thirty centuries and reflect cultures from around the world. The Conservation Department’s main responsibility is the care and technical study of these pieces, to ensure their preservation for today and into the future.
Read Time
3 minutes
Posted By
baracks
Date
June 15, 2018
Button, April Showers, 1943
April Showers
April showers bring May flowers, but these buttons tell a more interesting story. In the 1940s plastics were quickly being incorporated into all aspects of everyday life. Lightweight, inexpensive, and available in a wide range of colors, plastic was popular with designers and manufacturers of countless goods—including women’s accessories. Nylon was invented in 1938 allowing...
Read Time
1 minute
Posted By
Kate Wight
Date
April 30, 2014
Roughly cylindrical form of thin paper layers fanned out to form chair; the front and top cut and shaped to form contoured seat, low arms, and back, the seat further compressed and contoured by designer sitting in chair.
A Precious Posterior, Preserved for Posterity
The Honey Pop Chair is made entirely of paper. 120 layers of honeycombed, glassine paper. Designed by Tokujin Yoshioka, who is known to use materials in unexpected ways, the chair starts out as a completely flat honeycomb and then unfolds into a semi-chair shape. The first person who sits in it has an important role to...
Read Time
1 minute
Posted By
Katie Shelly
Date
February 7, 2014
Body Odor and Sticky Feet
What do sticky feet, body odor, and cracked, sweaty and saggy skins have to do with our museum collection? A survey of plastic materials in Cooper-Hewitt collections, supported by the Smithsonian’s Collections Care and Preservation Fund, was recently conducted by a team of conservators. We saw and smelled many of these plastic deterioration issues—up close...
Read Time
2 minutes
Posted By
Annie Hall
Date
November 12, 2013
Textile fragment depicting fantastic birds flying up and down into large blossoms.
The Scent of Vinegar
While the primary goal of a conservator continues to be the documentation and preservation or retardation of deterioration, conservation practices and materials have evolved over the years. For example, cellulose acetate was used to store museum collections in the 1940s and 1950s. At the time, it was a great solution and protected fragile objects in...
Read Time
2 minutes
Posted By
Kira Eng-Wilmot
Date
September 15, 2013