I am a paintings conservator at the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) in London. I am responsible for the conservation and preservation of paintings in the collection, ranging from contemporary commissions to Tudor portraits. I provide expert advice in relation to acquisitions, displays, exhibitions and loans-in. I undertake conservation treatments, technical examination and research to support the presentation and material understanding of the NPG’s paintings.

My research concentrates on artist’s materials and techniques, with a focus on eighteenth-century British painting, especially the work of Joshua Reynolds. I employ technical examination to explore artists’ creative processes, as well as investigating the methods used for producing multiple versions of paintings. Additionally, I have an interest in the way that paintings alter and change over time, and the impact of this on their appearance and interpretation. I am also investigating sustainable methods and materials for packing paintings.

I have become involved in research related to finding more sustainable approaches to packaging paintings for transport through the UK Museums and Heritage Sustainable Packing Group. We investigate more sustainable approaches to packing artworks for UK Museums and Heritage Organisations that comply with conservation standards. As a network of around 40 members from 11 national institutions, we work collaboratively and efficiently by pooling resources and expertise across UK institutions and working with external partners. We examine the materials we currently use, as well as alternative materials and approaches to packing, to find combinations that reduce waste and allow reuse and recycling. We recently published the first paper from our research in Studies in Conservation https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00393630.2024.2336774 . 

I had already trained and worked as a paintings conservator for many years before I undertook my doctoral research. Directly before undertaking my PhD I was Paintings Conservator for the Wallace Collection Reynolds Research Project, working in collaboration with the Scientific Department at the National Gallery. This research led me towards considering doctoral research and inspired my PhD topic. While I was completing my thesis, I saw the post of Paintings Conservator advertised at the NPG, applied for it and was lucky enough to be offered the job. One of the key things that attracted me to the role was contributing to the development of the conservation research programme.

I’ve been proud to have been Principal Investigator for two UKRI-AHRC grant funded capital projects for the NPG: Capability for Collections (CapCo)- ‘Facing the Future: Imaging Solutions for a Transformed National Portrait Gallery’ and Creative Research Capability (CresCa) ‘Faces in Focus: Equipping the National Portrait Gallery's New Conservation Laboratory for Photography, Works on Paper and Miniatures’. These grants have significantly increased capacity for technical analysis within the conservation department at the NPG. This has also been a catalyst for collaboration with other organisations and HEIs.

The highlight of my time as a CHASE Doctoral Researcher was travelling to St Petersburg to examine a version of Joshua Reynolds’s painting A Nymph and Cupid at the State Hermitage Museum. I spent five days working at the museum with the curator of British art and a conservation scientist undertaking technical examination of the painting. It was an amazing experience to be able to examine the painting and visit the museum before visitors arrived and see behind the scenes.  

I am about to start working on a funded collaborative project between several institutions to develop a database for technical analysis over a two year period. Additionally, I am undertaking technical analysis and treatment of the early seventeenth-century group portrait The 1st Earl of Monmouth and his family, attributed to Paul van Somer, NPG 5246.  

Try to enjoy the process of undertaking your research. Looking back I really appreciate the opportunity that being a CHASE funded student gave me to focus on my research without other demands on my time.