The world of art offers countless treasures that often must be preserved for future generations to enjoy.
There are many different types of wonderful careers in the field of art restoration and conservation. For those who wish to pursue these jobs, an educational background in the arts, including a bachelor's or master's degree in fine arts, will most likely lead to the best jobs.
Art Conservator
An art conservator is responsible for the preservation of cultural and artistic artifacts. This job is a mixture of science, field work, and creativity. Responsibilities may include examining articles to determine their properties and levels of deterioration and then restoring the object to its fullest potential. Specialties within the field of art conservation include paintings, textiles, sculpture, or electronic media. Art conservators typically work for museums, government agencies, universities and archive institutions.
Conservation Technician
For those who are mostly interested in the scientific aspects of art preservation, a career as a technician or scientist can be a good fit. This person is a professional scientist who uses specialized skills in technology to preserve artifacts in conjunction with the work of a conservator. They focus more on the scientific aspects of art preservation rather than the aesthetic.
Educator
Those who teach about art restoration and conservation typically have at least a master's degree and most likely a Ph.D. in a field such as art history, fine arts or museology. Educators use their own knowledge and experience to teach others either about the history of artifacts, such as when working for a museum or teaching fine arts at a university, or teach others restore and conserve art themselves.
Museum Exhibition
To work in an art museum, job seekers must typically have at least a bachelor's degree. They focus on the presentation of artifacts for the benefit of the public museum visitors. In addition, they are expected to have knowledge about storing, transporting and setting up art exhibits such as with traveling exhibitions. To do these jobs properly, a museum artist should have artistic and mechanical skills.
Architectural Conservationist
Some art conservationists specialize in architecture. This means that they travel the world to help restore ruins or other architecturally important artifacts. This job requires a great deal of research, and language skills can be helpful for international work.
