Paintings Conservation

« All our conservation treatments

MACC paintings conservators treat paintings ranging from 14th century traditional easel paintings to modern and contemporary paintings. Traditionally, paintings have been executed on a variety of supports in an array of media including, but not limited to, canvas, wood, or hardboard as well as oil, acrylic, tempera, or mixed media.

Paintings conservation treatments vary with the individual needs of the artwork, but can include cleaning, varnish removal, tear mending, restretching, and loss compensation. While most paintings are treated in the laboratory at MACC, paintings conservators travel to complete on-site examinations, conserve oversize paintings and murals, or to conduct object-by-object surveys.

Rita Berg

Rita Berg, Senior Paintings Conservator

Ms. Berg joined MACC in 2016 after a Kress Fellowship at the Conservation Center of New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts, where she treated Old Master paintings from the dispersed Samuel H. Kress Collection and assisted with teaching and supervision of graduate conservation students. Prior, she spent a year at the Brooklyn Museum of Art and held internships at the New York Historical Society, the Cranmer Art Group in New York, The Cloisters, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria. While specializing in Old Masters and panel paintings in particular, Ms. Berg has extensive experience with modern and contemporary works. She holds a Masters of Arts in Art History with an Advanced Certificate in Conservation from the Conservation Center, New York University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts summa cum laude from the University of Minnesota. She is a Professional Associate of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works with a membership in the Paintings Specialty Group.

Kristy Jeffcoat examining a work of art

Kristy Jeffcoat, Senior Paintings Conservator

Ms. Jeffcoat joined MACC in 2014. She has extensive experience in the care and preservation of paintings and painted surfaces, including canvas paintings, panel paintings, and painted sculpture, as well as Preventive Conservation. Prior to joining MACC, she worked at West Lake Conservators in Skaneateles, NY; the Western Center for the Conservation of Fine Arts in Denver, CO; and the Denver Art Museum. She interned at the Field Museum in Chicago, IL, and was a Kress Fellow at the Denver Art Museum. She holds a Masters of Art Conservation with a specialty in Paintings and Painted Surfaces from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario; a Post Baccalaureate Certificate in Art Conservation from Studio Art Centers International in Florence, Italy, and Bachelor of Fine Arts with a specialization in Art History from Louisiana State University. Ms. Jeffcoat is a Professional Associate of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works, Paintings Specialty Group.

Alexa Beller working on an oil painting

Alexa Beller, Paintings Conservator

Ms. Beller joined MACC after completing a National Endowment for the Humanities Paintings Conservation Fellowship at the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia. Prior, she completed internships at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Gianfranco Pocobene Studio, the department of the Conservation of Religious and Civil Art of the City of Paris, the Western Center for the Conservation of Fine Arts, and in the private practice of Ria German-Carter. Her experience is wide-ranging including Italian Renaissance panels, 19th-century French murals, early American portraits, and 20th-century mixed media paintings. Ms. Beller holds a Master of Science in Conservation from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation as well as a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She is an Associate member of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works and the Paintings Specialty Group.