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Conservation and Scientific Research

Conservators and scientists collaborate with curators to study, preserve, and conserve the works in The Met collection.

View from over the shoulder of a conservator holding a small rectangular painting in blue rubber gloves; the painting is rendered in short brush strokes that form a kenetic image of a dark, silhouetted tree trunk in the foreground and lone silhouetted figure standing and leaning against a solid, waist-high wall overlooking a faint building in the distance.

Conservation and Scientific Research Projects

Objects conservators working in the Museum's repair shop in 1936

Caring for The Met: 150 Years of Conservation

The Departments

Two conservators in their lab staining wood paneling for the British Galleries

Objects Conservation

The Department of Objects Conservation works closely with each of the Museum’s curatorial departments in their mission to preserve and study three-dimensional works of art. Staff members are active as educators, consultants, and collaborators in conservation and cultural heritage projects locally and around the world.

Conservator Isabelle Duvernois examining a Monet landscape through a microscope in the Paintings Conservation studio. Unframed paintings are leaning against a wall on a ledge in the background.

Paintings Conservation

Paintings conservators support many different facets of the institution's activities, checking hundreds of paintings for loan and taking responsibility for many hundreds more that arrive at the Museum as honored guests to be part of temporary exhibitions and displays.

A woman looking through a telescope, examining a colorful work of art on paper

Paper Conservation

The Paper Conservation Department is dedicated to the preservation, technical analysis, and research of works of art from all the Museum's curatorial departments.

Woman facing large grid of color photographs, reaching up with small light measuring tool.

Photograph Conservation

The Photograph Conservation Department provides preservation, conservation, and research into the history, aesthetics, and technology of images dating from the early history of the medium until the present day.

Photographed up-close, from three-quarter view, a piece of silver scientific equipment shines a precise bulls-eye light on a painting of blue irises.

Scientific Research

The Department of Scientific Research investigates the material aspects of works of art in The Met collection. Scientists in the department cooperate with conservators and curators in studying, preserving, and conserving the works in The Met collection, and also pursue innovative research in analytical techniques, preventive conservation, and treatment methodologies.

A group of textile conservators wearing white lab coats and purple gloves use sponges to wash a tapestry in their lab

Textile Conservation

The Department of Textile Conservation is responsible for preservation, conservation, technical study, and research of the Museum’s collection of approximately 36,000 textiles, representing a broad range of textiles including tapestries, carpets, embroideries, costumes, and accessories of all periods and cultures.

View of the Costume Institute Conservation lab, showing various examination tables, shelves of instruments, and a Charles James couture ballgown in the corner

The Costume Institute Conservation

The Costume Institute's Conservation Department supports an active curatorial program of exhibitions, publications, and loans through its preservation, conservation, and technical research of the 35,000 objects in The Costume Institute's collection.

Time-Based Media Working Group

Time-Based Media Working Group

Time-based media art (TBMA) encompasses works that include film, video, audio, or digital technologies that unfold to viewers over a period of time. TBMA Working Group members educate The Met staff about issues related to these types of artworks and advocate for better care and preservation of our time-based media holdings.