AIC-PMG Winter Meeting 2025

“All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.' So finally I would write one true sentence, and then go on from there."

Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast

In April and September 2024, the "Taller de Conservación y Preservación de Fotografía" at Finca Vigía, Cuba, marked the latest in a series of trainings, following previous efforts by Monque Fisher and Walter Newman of the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC).

Finca Vigía, Ernest Hemingway's residence in Cuba, attracts over 100,000 visitors annually, making it one of the most popular cultural sites in the country. The estate serves as an important diplomatic bridge between the United States and Cuba, fostering collaboration in preservation efforts and cultural exchange. Through initiatives led by the Finca Vigía Foundation, a Boston based organization dedicated to preserving Hemingway's legacy, the site has become a symbol of shared heritage and a platform for building mutual understanding between the two nations. Under the guidance of NEDCC, the Foundation has built a state-of-the-art conservation lab that is however faced with significant challenges, including the country’s frequent electricity and water limitations. The lab commonly has at least one conservator on staff.

Sponsored by the US Embassy in Havana and made possible by the Finca Vigía Foundation, spearheaded by Executive Director Mary-Jo Adams, this two-session workshop focused on hands-on, practical conservation techniques, conducted in the participants’ native Spanish to maximize engagement and effectiveness. All workshop materials, including a specially developed conservation kit, had to be hand-carried after obtaining export permission from the Department of Commerce and other US government agencies as well as cleared through stringent Cuban customs checks, underscoring the logistical hurdles. There is a severe limitation of access to conservation supplies in the country. The level of knowledge in photograph conservation of participants could not be anticipated although it was understood that they would be mostly trained conservators. These hands-on sessions covered essential topics such as the evolution of photographic processes, emergency preparedness, and interventive treatments, requiring participants to engage directly with the tools and techniques provided.

The workshops are part of the ongoing efforts of the Finca Vigía Foundation to preserve Ernest Hemingway’s legacy.

This presentation will focus on the pedagogical strategies and materials developed for these workshops, emphasizing the innovative solutions required to overcome the unique challenges of training in Cuba.

The M+ Museum is striving to establish new guidelines to direct the decision-making process for the conservation of photographs during acquisitions and throughout the conservation of legacy works, with a particular emphasis on reproduction awareness.

The goal is to fully comprehend each photograph as a unique work of art while taking into account the opinions of various museum stakeholders. It also aims to provide advice and negotiate on the best long-term collection care strategies for the museum and whether reproduction could aid in preservation.

This presentation will draw attention to certain crucial areas: The first step is to establish descriptive terminology for different types of reproductions that acknowledge stakeholders, nomenclature, and budgets. Second, diligent work on setting up a procedure for evaluating the collection's values and allocating stakeholders to those attributions, including the combination of the museum's artist questionnaire with the photographic information record. Thirdly, incorporating this work into the museum's overall guidelines, procedures, policies, and standards.

In order to comprehend the collection and recommend the best conservation measures, the work is being developed in cooperation with the registration, curatorial, and collections database teams under the (color) photographic committee. This presentation will provide an overview of the work done over the past two years, our starting point, preliminary case studies, and ongoing work.

The Wayside, a historic home in Concord, Massachusetts, is renowned for being the residence of several prominent 19th-century authors, including Louisa May Alcott, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Margaret Sidney (Harriet Lothrop). In 1965, the house became part of Minute Man National Historical Park, marking the first literary site acquired by the National Park Service.

This presentation will focus on the ongoing efforts to preserve and conserve the collection of photographs permanently displayed in the house.

The walls of The Wayside are adorned with artwork, documents, and family photographs, many of which have been on display since their original placement by the owners. In 2023, a project was launched to address the conservation of framed paper artifacts on display. A team of paper and photograph conservator, along with object conservators, working through CCI Industrial Services, LLC, was contracted by the National Park Service for this task. The conservation work took place at the Historic Architecture, Conservation, and Engineering Center in Lowell, MA.

This presentation will delve into the decision-making processes behind the conservation efforts, considering the unique qualities of the artwork, its contextual significance, and the specific requirements of preserving it within a historic house setting. The collaborative efforts between conservators, curators, and National Park Service Project Inspectors will be a key focus.

The aim of the talk is to introduce the collection and highlight the factors specific to The Wayside that influenced the conservation approach. The presentation will be accompanied by images of the house and examples of the treatments undertaken.