Spotlight Tour: The Art of Conservation, with Sachi Laumas ’26

The work of conservation often goes unnoticed. On this tour, Sachi Laumas ’26 will explore the role of conservation in the life of an artwork and the effect it has on how we experience art. She will also discuss the museums’ Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, the first scientifically based conservation and research department in any U.S. museum. The Straus remains a world leader in conservation practice and training to this day. Stops on the tour are Study for Blossoms (c. 1881) by British painter Albert Joseph Moore; a Persian sweetmeat dish from c. 1200 (Seljuk-Atabeg period); and Piet Mondrian’s Composition with Blue, Black, Yellow, and Red (1922), an abstract painting still in its original artist-made frame.

Spotlight Tours offer a chance to explore the collections of the Harvard Art Museums through the eyes of a Harvard student. Free and open to the public, these tours start outside the museum shop on Saturdays and Sundays at 11am and 2pm. Drop in and join the conversation! And find out what the Student Guides are up to anytime on Instagram @harvardarthappens.

Please check in with museum staff at the Visitor Services desk in the Calderwood Courtyard to request to join the tour. Space is limited, and tours are available on a first-come, first-served basis; no registration is required.

You may also like the following events from Harvard Art Museums:

• This Thursday, 4th September, 12:30 pm, Gallery Talk: Activation of Moholy-Nagy’s Light Prop for an Electric Stage in Cambridge
• This Saturday, 6th September, 12:00 pm, Exhibition Tour: Edna Andrade: Imagination Is Never Static in Cambridge
• Next Thursday, 11th September, 06:00 pm, Opening Lecture for Sketch, Shade, Smudge: Drawing from Gray to Black in Cambridge

Also check out other Arts events in Cambridge, Workshops in Cambridge, Fine Arts events in Cambridge.