The Brooklyn Museum Conservation Department has an unpaid 2017 summer internship opportunity for a graduate student currently enrolled in a conservation training program. The internship will take place over a period of 8 – 10 weeks and will primarily involve working with the American paintings collection. The intern will assist with a variety of projects including carrying out technical examinations, participating in a collaborative gallery-based treatment, and preparing paintings for outgoing loan.
The technical examinations are being carried out with the ultimate goal of incorporating the findings into a third volume of the BKM American Paintings Catalogue for artists born after 1876. The intern will have access to a range of analytical equipment including magnification, ultraviolet light, x-radiography, IRR, XRF, multi-band/multispectral imaging, and FORS. Some familiarity with these techniques is desirable, but not necessary. Many of the paintings have never been examined or thoroughly documented.
The intern will also have the opportunity to work on the collaborative surface cleaning and IRR examination of Albert Bierstadt’s monumental canvas, Storm in the Rocky Mountains, Mt. Rosalie. This project will take place in the galleries and will have an outreach/social media component.
The BKM Conservation Department has a long conservation history, with many records dating back to the 1930s, when the first conservator Sheldon Keck was hired. The department has an open floor plan with shared space among paper, paintings, and objects conservators. On any given day, the space is a busy hub of activity with pre-program interns, graduate interns, and project conservators working alongside the permanent staff. The intern will experience a vibrant, working conservation laboratory within an active museum.
For inquires please contact Lauren Bradley, Associate Paintings Conservator.
Lauren.bradley@brooklynmuseum.org or 718.501.6274