Learning with The Conservation Center

While we are working as a community to handle COVID-19, we want to continue to provide our audience with educational content. To give you a more frequent glimpse into the world of conservation, we will be switching to brief weekly newsletters for the time being.

This week, we are featuring several articles from our newsletter archives. Stay tuned for additional content highlighting our favorite past treatments, as well as exciting recently completed projects.

Our CEO's statement and more information about our PPE donation are available here.

Stay safe, and we look forward to connecting with you!

Female Artists: Between the Secular and the Surreal

Gertrude Abercrombie: Bohemian Queen

Gertrude Abercrombie (1909 - 1977) was the only child of two opera singers who happened to be on tour in Texas the day she was born. While they continued to relocate throughout her early childhood, the family eventually settled in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago where Abercrombie lived for the remainder of her life. While Abercrombie had formal art training from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the American Academy of Art, her style was significantly influenced by her time spent outside of the classroom.

Lilias Trotter: Divine Aspirations

Five journals by Lilias Trotter were brought to The Center for conservation, digital archiving, and reproduction back in 2013. Some of the journals were sketchbooks, while others were written accounts of her experience in Algeria alongside pencil and watercolor sketches, as well as photographs of daily life.