Longfellow Collections and Conservation Decision Making

Join us as we learn more about the site's material culture collection and honor former Site Manager and Curator James M. Shea!

When a conservator is charged with creating a treatment plan for a historic object, she or he is faced with a series of decisions. What damage has been done to the object? What type of repair is appropriate? What is the degree of intervention that is acceptable? All of these choices are weighed against the type of object, its purpose and general condition. Join conservator Joannie Bottkol as she walks us through the decision tree a professional conservator takes in moments like these. She will highlight various objects from the site’s collection that have been treated in the past few years.

Joannie Bottkol received the prestigious Booth Family Rome Prize in Historic Preservation and Conservation in 2018, which supported a fellowship at the American Academy in Rome. She previously worked as an objects conservator for the National Park Service Northeast Region, where she worked on objects from the collection of Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters NHS. She received her Master’s Degree in Art History and Conservation from the Conservation Center of the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University.

Space is limited, so please call (617) 876-4491 or email long_reservations@nps.gov to reserve your spot! Part of the Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters NHS Fall Lecture Series.