About Me
Hello everyone! My name is Laura Sankary. I am 25 years old with a Bachelor’s degree in Art Conservation from the UD (University of Delaware). I’m from Minnesota but have family who live in Los Gatos. A few things about me, I like to play piano, visit museums, and travel to new places. During my undergrad, I had the opportunity to intern at the MIA (Minneapolis Art Institute) and UD. I conserved a variety of objects: frames, masks, hair, ceramics, and paintings. Interning at NUMU has introduced me to museum operations and museum collections. The experience has helped with deciding what I would like to study while looking at grad schools.
About My Degree
I have my Bachelor’s degree in Art Conservation from the University of Delaware.
What is Art Conservation?
Art Conservation is the individual and collaborative effort of research, treatment, care, and preservation of material culture. It combines chemistry and art history to keep the integrity and stories of these objects for future generations.
The courses that I took were taught by practicing art conservators. While in the program, I learned about conservation practices and techniques, care and preservation of cultural materials, and art materials and techniques. The program also provided opportunities to learn and demonstrate what I acquired over time.
My Time at NUMU
During my internship at NUMU, I cataloged and rehoused archival materials that are of, or related to, Frank and George in the museum’s collections database. Items I’ve cataloged are letters, journals, postcards, newspapers, photographs, documents, scrapbooks, and photo albums. My favorite item I cataloged was Olivia de Havilland’s journal about her trip with Frank and George to Hollywood and meeting studio executives. In the last few weeks of the internship, I have been cataloging and evaluating the condition of artworks done by Frank and George.
Takeaways
One thing that stood out to me was the similarities between art conservation and collections management. Both fields have to document, research, rehouse, and evaluate the condition of art objects. Their end goals are to preserve art objects and their stories. For me, preserving and conserving art objects and their stories is why I became so passionate about art conservation. When working in collections, I was doing similar work but in a different application. When creating a record, it is almost like creating an identity for the object. All the information that is held within the record preserves its story and history. And once the record is done, it can be shared to the public. That's what I found truly special about doing this work.
Overall, the internship at NUMU has given me such valuable insights of the systems and operations of museums and museum collections. It has helped me to find what I am passionate about and my next steps in my schooling and career. Thank you to everyone at NUMU, for being so welcoming and kind. I’m so grateful for this opportunity and to be able to be part of an amazing and inspiring team.
-Written by Laura Sankary
