There are so many works of art here—and so many different kinds! How does the Museum take care of them all?

That’s a big question! So big that we can only begin to answer it here. In this issue of museumKids we look at just some of the departments that take care of the artwork, but there are many more.

All the works of art in the Museum are cared for a little differently, but there are two things that all of them need. They all need to be kept in a certain air temperature and at a certain level of humidity. Humidity refers to the amount of moisture, or water, in the air. Controlling the humidity helps prevent works of art from drying out
(and possibly cracking) or becoming damp.

Also, works of art in the Museum’s collection are cleaned when necessary, but different cleaners are used for different materials—you wouldn’t use the same soap on a wooden sarcophagus as you would on a clay urn any more than you would clean a toy fire truck and your cat with the same soap.

Cleaning, preserving, and occasionally repairing works of art is known as art conservation, and the people who do this specialized work are called conservators. We talked to several conservators in the Museum to find out how different works of art are cared for.

Let’s look at some of the ways this is done.

Download What is Art Conservation?

PDF format, 4.1MB, 8Pages.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

What you’ve read about in this issue of museumkids explains just a small part of what some conservators in the Museum do to take care of all the works of art—so you can enjoy them every time you visit! Do you have other questions about what goes on at the Museum? Let us know!

Activity

Now that you know a little about how conservators in the Museum take care of different works of art, it’s your turn. Tell us about something you have that’s important and special to you and how you take care of it. You can write about it, draw a picture of it, or both. If you’d like, use a separate piece of paper. Don’t forget to include your name, age, and address, so we can send you a Museum goodie.

You can send your project to:
museumkids/What is Art Conservation?
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Education
1000 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10028-0198

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