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A black and white illustration of an arrangement of conservation tools shown as silhouettes against a light background.

Conservation Stories

Caring for The Met collection.

About

Conservators from The Met take you behind the scenes to show how they preserve and care for the Museum’s vast collection of artworks.

Episodes

Man and woman looking down observing a stain glass window.
Video
A New Home for the Tiffany “Garden Landscape” Window
Watch as a three-part Tiffany window that was conceived, commissioned, and crafted by women arrives at The Met.
December 11, 2025
Two people stand in front of an ornate table in a workshop space. The table has curved legs and elegant detailing, and is missing its top.
Video
Considering the Philadelphia Table
Go behind the scenes at The Met as curator Alyce Englund and conservator Marijn Manuels explore the history of a slab table from Philadelphia.
November 7, 2024
A person leans over to place a book between the plates of a book press in the foreground at right.
Video
Conserving Rusconi: Vitruvius’s Ten Books on Architecture
Go behind the scenes at The Met to see the conservation of a 17th-century edition of Vitruvius’s Ten Books on Architecture.
July 18, 2024
Photograph of photographer Eileen Travell smiling and adjusting a camera on a tripod.
Video
Conserving the Edward C. Moore Collection
Go behind the scenes at The Met with photographer Eileen Travell as she channels the spirit of Edward C. Moore—the creative force who led Tiffany & Co. during the second half of the 19th century.
June 27, 2024
Associate Conservator Melina Plottu works on the conservation of purple silk dress
Video
Conserving Gallenga’s Theodosia
Follow the conservation treatment of Maria Monaci Gallenga’s “Theodosia” tea gown and learn about Gallenga’s unique vision as a textile artist and fashion designer.
Mellissa Huber and Melina Plottu
December 4, 2023
Photo of two women looking at a brown, blue, and red tapestry of a King, woman on left is pointing at the tapestry.
Video
Conserving the King Arthur Tapestry
Follow the conservation treatment of King Arthur from the Nine Heroes Tapestries series, among the oldest in The Met’s collection.
December 13, 2022
A wide shot of a paintings conservator working on three panels from an Italian altarpiece depicting three religious figures on a gold background.
Video
Conserving the Giovanni di Paolo Altarpiece
Follow the two-year-long conservation treatment of the Madonna and Child with Saints altarpiece (1454) by Giovanni di Paolo.
Michael Gallagher, Cynthia Moyer, and Evan Read
April 8, 2021
A conservator at work on a painting.
Video
Conserving Cuzco School Paintings
Follow the conservation treatment of Emblem of Folly, a painting from colonial Cuzco that “shines a light on those communities or artists that have not had the focus before.”
José Luis Lazarte Luna
February 4, 2021
A conservator in a black sweater sits at a table and works on a panel of a larger woodblock print.
Video
Conserving Albrecht Dürer's Monumental Arch
Watch a video about the conservation of Albrecht Dürer's Arch of Honor of Maximilian I, a monumental woodblock print made up of thirty-six sheets of paper.
Freyda Spira and Rachel Mustalish
October 18, 2019
Video
Conserving a Yup'ik Mask
Conservator Caitlin Mahony consults with Chuna McIntyre, a Yup'ik dancer, on her approach to conserving a Yup'ik mask.
Caitlin Mahony and Chuna McIntyre
February 4, 2019
A conservationist in a gallery setting stitches the tutu on Edgar Degas's sculpture, The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer.
Video
Conserving Degas
Watch a video about the construction of a new tutu for The Met's cast of Degas's famous sculpture, The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer.
April 6, 2018
A conservator wearing goggles stands over a drawing on a table
Video
Conserving Michelangelo
Watch the complex and delicate process of restoring an architectural drawing by Michelangelo.
November 3, 2017
Conservators at work restoring Tullio Lombardo’s sculpture of Adam.
Video
Conserving Tullio Lombardo's "Adam"
Conservators, scientists, and curators tell the story behind the unprecedented conservation of Tullio Lombardo's Adam.
November 12, 2014

Credits

Senior Manager of Media Production: Skyla Choi
Series Producer and Director: Ann Collins
Production Coordinators: Hayley Theisen, Aurola Wedman Alfaro
Production Assistants: Rozie Brockington, Malvika Dang, Angelina Ding
Camera: Lucas Groth, Scott Sinkler
Original Music: Austin Fisher, Mark Suozzo

Original Series Production Credits
Director: Kate Farrell
Producer: Melissa Bell
Editor: Sarah Cowan
Camera: Wayne De La Roche, Dia Felix, Sarah Cowan, Stephanie Wuertz
Production Coordinator: Kaelan Burkett
Production Assistant: Bryan Martin

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