Hands On! Practical Conservation for the Collections Professional Care and Cleaning of Taxidermy

Fran Ritchie, objects conservator for the National Park Service (NPS) Harpers Ferry Center, will share her knowledge and advice on the care and basic cleaning of mounted taxidermy. The presentation will include proper handling, safety protocols, how to vacuum, and tips for storage housing. To tailor the talk to the audience, specific questions will be solicited prior to the webinar. If you have any lingering questions, now is the time to ask! Fran works on a wide variety of decorative arts, social history, and natural history collections across park sites. Prior to the NPS, she developed a specialty in natural history conservation by working at the American Museum of Natural History, Draper Museum of Natural History, and several small and private collections across the United States. Fran has co-taught graduate student courses on conservation of natural science collections at New York University, and guest lectured on the topic at Buffalo State College. She is a Professional Associate of the American Institute for Conservation and an active member of the Society for Preservation of Natural History Collections. This webinar is part of the webinar series, Hands On! Practical Conservation for the Collections Professional, presented by RC-WR featuring hands-on demonstrations by professional conservators of basic conservation skills that you can put to use with your own collection. Conservators will also lay down some guidelines that show you how to conduct a conservation condition survey and determine when it’s time to call in a professional. This webinar is sponsored by our Tier 1 Sponsor, U.S. Art – thank you for your support!