Art restoration is the repairing of damages in an art material such as paintings, sculptures, textiles, manuscripts, murals and so on. It is the process usually related to art conservation that restores and conserves the artifacts from earlier times by cleaning and fixing them with various materials including but not limited to paint and ceramics.
While art restoration and art conservation are similar to some degree, the former has been controversial through the years because it often involves irreversible changes to the original work of art. Both restoration and conservation artists attempt to retain the integrity of the artifact but a conservator will fix the material to preserve it for generations with the attempt to make all restoration reversible. On the other hand, the restorer will repair the material the way he thinks it should look like. Apart from doing art cleaning and some treatment, a restorer makes the artifact look more pristine which is contrary to the conservator's goal to make the artifact as genuine as possible. However, restoration can be done either by a restorer or a conservator.
While conservators are generally academically trained carrying Bachelor or Master's degree compared to restorers who improve their skills from trainings, workshops, apprenticeship and other programs, a lot of colleges or universities offer degrees in Art specializing in conservation and restoration. For art restorer aspirants, the following schools offer courses in Art that specializes in Conservation, History and Criticism. Some of these institutions offer Bachelor or Master's degrees that will help you pursue a career in art restoration.
- University of Washington-Seattle Campus
- University of Denver
- University of San Diego
- University of San Francisco
- University of Chicago
- University of Delaware
- University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- Carlow University
- Princeton University
- Indiana University
Many universities outside the United States, particularly in Europe, offer degrees in art restoration and conservation. Examples are Royal Academy of the Arts in Belgium, Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, Northumbria University in United Kingdom, Lorenzo de' Medici in Italy and a lot more. Typically, programs take three years with a mixture of internship, oral and written examinations, and research papers. Some programs are already specialized thereby requiring specific skills such as painting restoration, paper conservation, frame restoration, etc. Thus prior to selecting a degree, determine the material you want to specialize in and whether or not you are interested in curatorial work. For internships, you may be required to work in the geographical area after graduation so it is important that you are ready for this setting. Prior to enrolling, you will also find it useful to check the organizations or museums, which the school has a connection with.
All art works will come to a point where they will need quality restoration because of the aging process brought about by varying climates, exposure to natural environment and so on. Because of this, jobs on art preservation or art restoration will remain and will always be on the lookout for particularly first-rate skills in order to retain artifacts' character, value and integrity.
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