An empty laboratory with art and conservation tools.

Conservation at Yale

Yale’s conservation community consists of dozens of highly skilled professionals working across the university’s collecting units.

The Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage is the home of Conservation at Yale: the university’s platform for cross-collection initiatives that address shared strategic conservation priorities. 

Yale’s conservators form a campus-wide community of practice focused on collaboration, innovation, and mentoring future generations of heritage professionals. 

In addition to the care and treatment of Yale’s collections, they regularly lend their expertise as teachers and researchers to further the university’s academic mission and support global scholarship.

  • A woman stands next to a taxidermized bulldog on a table in a conservation lab with white walls.
  • An small framed portrait held by a purple glove being shown by a flashlight.
  • A woman looks through a microscope while conserving an art object on paper.
  • A man holds up a page from a medieval manuscript.

Conservation

Conservation experts at Yale care for over 30 million objects, preserving materials ranging from paintings and textiles to taxidermy and fossils.

Meet the Steering Committee

Comprised of conservation leadership from the Yale University Art Gallery, Yale Center for British Art, Yale Peabody Museum, &Yale University Library.

Steering Committee

Conservation Facilities

Yale’s museums and libraries maintain specialized spaces for conservation activities across campus, often embedded in museum buildings or closely adjacent to the collections. 

  • IPCH Shared Conservation Lab on Yale West Campus

    This space exemplifies the university’s cross-collection approach to shared collection resources and is a leading-edge facility for conservation treatment and analysis.

  • Conservation Science Labs

    Home to specialized equipment and instrumentation dedicated to the study of objects in Yale’s museums and libraries, and to collaborate with peers around the world.

  • Digitization Lab

    A designated space for collections projects across Yale, comprised of a photography studio, 3D printers, 3D laser scanners, and several large-scale instruments.

  • Gates (Stephen F. ’68) Conservation Laboratory

    Yale University Library’s purpose-designed space, where conservators, conservation technicians, student assistants, and exhibits staff treat objects from across the library.

Cross-Collection Initiatives

These initiatives are led by colleagues from across the five cultural heritage units at Yale. Each project spans disciplines and engages shared goals that better the planet, educational opportunities, and collaboration at Yale.

Environmental Monitoring Data

Sustainably storing collections

Yale’s collections are responsibly aligning with Yale’s commitment to planetary solutions to combat climate change. A range of environmental data is being collected and examined to reduce the energy consumption of collection spaces.

Find out more about the project
Black and white photograph of a seated man held by someone wearing purple gloves.

Guiding Future Generations

Building community and professional pathways

This cross-collection initiative aims to build a network and sense of community among emerging professionals working in conservation and preservation spaces across Yale. These professional development opportunities aim to build skills and relationships that last beyond time spent at Yale.

Learn more about the program
A student presents to a group of peers in a science lab.