Getty Conservation Institute wins top honor

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The Getty Conservation Institute — a branch of the J. Paul Getty Trust devoted to improving conservation practices and preserving the world’s cultural heritage — has won the Distinguished Award for the Advancement of the Field of Conservation, the highest honor bestowed by the American Institute of Conservation. The award will be presented today at the national organization’s annual meeting in Century City.

Eryl Wentworth, executive director of the AIC, praised the Los Angeles-based institute for its work in education, field projects and scientific research. ‘Given the broad range of professional development opportunities they continually provide to the conservation profession, it’s very appropriate that the GCI be honored in this way,’ she said in a statement.

Active in laboratory projects and far-flung field work, the institute has investigated light damage to works of art, explored the nature of modern paints and conserved a wide range of historic sites. With more than 20 field projects in process, Getty conservators and their international partners are working on such things as ancient Egyptian and Chinese wall paintings and mosaics made in Tunisia when it was part of the Roman Empire.

The award received by the Getty was established in 1996 to recognize ‘vital and longstanding support of the professional development activities of conservators.’ Previous winners include the Mellon Foundation, Stanford University Libraries and the Samuel H. Kress Foundation.

— Suzanne Muchnic