Erika, I am a strong advocate for having a conservator as part of a collections committee for a museum or public arts organization. All too often art and historic objects and documents come into a collection with no detailed examination and discussion of long term conservation - preservation issues. This can be very costly as often institutions get surprised when conservation issues arise later on. It is especially important when art works like sculptures are commissioned. Also, conservators have expertise in the materials and methods used in art and historic works and as such can be a very valuable voice bringing science to bear on issues of authentication and attribution. Having found any number of fakes and altered / heavily restored art and objects over my career in conservation I think that kind of insight is very valuable before you accept a donation or buy art or historic works for your collection. Cheers! Dave David Harvey Senior Conservator & Museum Consultant Los Angeles CA USA www.cityofangelsconservation.weebly.com On Wed, Feb 4, 2015 at 2:34 PM, Heurich House Archives < [log in to unmask]> wrote: > Dear All, > > I am soliciting advice on what your experiences in forming a Collections > Advisory Committee have been. What kind of people should be included? What > should their roles include? etc > > Feel free to respond openly or e-mail me directly at > [log in to unmask] > > Thanks, > Erika > > -- > Archivist > Heurich House Museum > 1307 New Hampshire Avenue NW > Washington, DC 20036 > (202) 429-0800 > [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> > > #heurichhouse <http://instagram.com/heurichhouse> @heurichhouse > <https://twitter.com/heurichhouse> > > ------------------------------ > > To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link: > http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-HOME.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1 > ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).