The intense reactions surrounding the restoration of the cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris, and its treasures were triggered by the fact that restoration of medieval art and architecture continues to be clouded by controversy and changeable trends. It was only in the late 19th century that an attempt to systematise restoration and to recognise it as a distinct field of study was first made. In the one hundred years since those early studies, ethical standards and popular trends have changed dramatically - often to the confusion of the collector, the museum curator and the scholar. Springing off from the plethora of issues currently surrounding the efforts to restore Notre Dame and to reinstate its artworks, this conference will focus on the past, the present and the future of restoration in an attempt to uncloud some of the confusion and to examine the enduring life of medieval art from its creation in the Middle Ages to today. Organised together with Luhring Augustine, we hope to make this conference relevant to the types of issues that museums, collectors and scholars face when studying the condition of objects, their long and often turbulent histories, and their future. 

Speakers include Timothy Husband, Madeline Caviness, Lloyd de Beer, Lucretia Kargere, Alexandra Gajewski, Paul Ruddock, Michele Marincola, Emily Pegues and Rosamund Garrett.

Please RSVP to rsvp@luhringaugustine.com