1:07 p.m., April 7, 2009----The University of Delaware's Department of Art History and the Department of Art Conservation are presenting a two-day joint seminar, “Art Historians and Conservators in Collaboration,” Wednesday, May 6, and Thursday, May 7. The seminar is open to the public.

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“This is an exciting seminar and will look at paintings from a different perspective, explore what we can learn about the artists' lives and personalities from the way the paintings were constructed, what materials and techniques were used and why, and the artists' evolving thought processes. The seminar will focus on how art historians and art conservators can work together to complement each other's expertise,” Joyce Hill Stoner, professor in the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, said

“The seminar includes internationally renowned speakers from as far away as England and Los Angeles,” Stoner said. “This is a rare opportunity for members of the UD community.”

She and David M. Stone, associate professor of art history, organized the event, which is designed for professionals in both areas and for all those interested in art. “Imagine if surgeons and diagnosticians didn't work together, or what would happen if software developers didn't speak to hardware engineers. Art historians and art conservators have many common goals but very different technical skills and areas of knowledge. They can improve each other's research immensely by sharing methods and experiences,” Stone, a specialist in 17th-century Italian art, said.

The seminar will open with the final lecture of the UD Department of Art History Lecture Series, featuring David Bomford, associate director for collections at the J. Paul Getty Museum and formerly the senior restorer of paintings at the National Gallery in London.

He will speak on “Unfinished Paintings: Artists, Collectors and the Non Finito,” at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 6, at Gore Recital Hall in the Roselle Center for the Arts.

Bomford will discuss technical art history. In a speech in London, he defined technical art history, as “all the processes for making art. It is principally concerned with the physical material and structures of works of art and how they are prepared, used, combined and manipulated, and how an artist arrived at finished or indeed unfinished work. In short, it is our access to the heart of the artist's intentions and changing ambitions.”

The following day, a workshop, “Thinking with the Painter: Art Historians and Art Conservators Collaborate,” will be held from 9-1 p.m., Thursday, May 7, at the Trabant University Center Theatre, with the following schedule:

* 9:30 a.m., Welcome from Nina Kallmyer, chairperson of art history, and Debra Hess Norris, chairperson of art conservation, vice provost for graduate and professional education and Henry F. du Pont Chair in Fine Arts;

* 9:35 a.m., Introduction by Stone and Stoner;

* 9:40 a.m., Talk by Bomford on “Technical Art History and Artistic Intention”;

* 9:50 a.m., Keynote lecture, by Anthea Callen of Nottingham University and author of books on the techniques and art of the Impressionists, who will speak on “Practice Matters: The Methods and Materials of Impressionism”;

* 10:30 Discussion moderated by Stoner;

* 10:55 a.m., Gridley McKim-Smith, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Professor in the Humanities at Bryn Mawr College, and author of Examining Velázquez, will speak on “Unfinished Velázquezes: What Do They Tell Us?”

* 11:15 a.m., Stone will speak on “Multiplicity: Five Versions of Guercino's Salome Visiting St. John in Prison”;

* 11:35 a.m., Discussion moderated by Bomford;

* Noon, Wendy Bellion, assistant professor of art history, will speak on “Whose Views/ Recovering the Artists' Viewpoints in the Birchs' City of Philadelphia”;

* 12:20 p.m., Stoner will speak on “Whistler's Labor-Intensive Evanescence [and how he borrowed from his friends in order to be original]; and

* 12:40 p.m., Discussion moderated by Stone.

The May 6 evening lecture and the May 7 program are open to the University community and the public, but reservations are requested and can be made by contacting Susan Behrens at [Behrens@udel.edu] or (302) 831-8236.

Article by Sue Moncure