She recently conducted two workshops on art conservation, one of which was ‘Cleaning in Conservation’, in collaboration with the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi and Lal Bagh Palace, Indore. The second one 'Conservation of Paintings on Canvas: Science and Ethics' was in collaboration with Assam State Museum, Guwahati, with a public lecture on the Art and Science of Painting Conservation. She has also participated in multiple ‘Conserving Canvas Initiatives’ funded by Getty Foundation at different institutions in The Netherlands, Mexico and the United States.

Art conservation is a pretty specialized field. What drew you to it?

Growing up, my favourite place in Hyderabad was the State Museum and Salar Jung Museum. Every time any of our relatives came to visit, we would take them to these museums, and I would always pick a gallery and browse through it. Through high school and college, I took art classes in the evenings and soon after enrolled in an undergraduate degree in Fine Arts. I was always drawn towards the ‘science’ behind art - how art is made, what materials the artists used to make it look a certain way and how it aged. As I finished my Bachelor’s and was in the early stages of my career, I stumbled onto the field of conservation of cultural heritage. I read in the newspaper about the conservation of the Egyptian Mummy at the Hyderabad State Museum. I remember thinking this is a fascinating profession and started reading more about it. The more I read, the more I wanted to pursue it professionally. The final push came when I was selected to assist the conservation team of the Egyptian Mummy project. The wheels of the universe started moving, the stars aligned, and I was enrolled in a Master’s course in art conservation. I haven’t looked back since!

You completed your MSc in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage (Paintings) from the University of Amsterdam. What was the experience like?

I started my conservation education in India with a Master’s in art conservation at the National Museum Institute in New Delhi (now the Indian Institute of Heritage). This is one of the few programs in India offering professional graduate training in art conservation. During and after my education, I worked with private conservators, museums and art institutions on a wide variety of artworks and all through this slowly gravitating towards paintings. Having had a foundation in art conservation, I decided to pursue a specialized Master’s in easel painting conservation at the University of Amsterdam.

Inpainting at the University of Amsterdam. Picture credit – Nikita Shah (2021)

My experience during the Master’s program in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage at the University of Amsterdam has been exceptional. The program and the conservation studios are housed in the same building as the conservation department of the Rijksmuseum and the Dutch Cultural Heritage Agency. This means that you are surrounded by brilliant art conservators, conservation scientists and research scholars doing state-of-the-art research. Initially it was pretty overwhelming to be surrounded by such intelligent people, but I quickly learned that all these people were there to teach us and were eager to share their vast knowledge. The course structure was also designed in such a way that we had a lot of experienced specialists come in and give lectures on their research. As we moved through the semesters, we learnt different skills and applied them to the conservation treatment of the painting assigned to us. While I already had some conservation experience from India, the UvA program taught me a lot about conservation science and technical art history emphasizing investigations into material science, how they interact with each other and how conservation interventions affect these artworks.

Living in Amsterdam with its picturesque canals and old houses was an added cherry on top. My student housing dorm used to be the Amsterdam Nautical School till 2000, and the building still shows some nautical elements that reminded us of the building’s background. I also embraced Dutch culture, learning how to bike like the Amsterdammers, drive boats in the canals and speak a little bit of the language.

Could you tell us more about the work you do as a conservator at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston?

As a conservator at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, my responsibilities encompass a wide range of tasks. I conduct extensive conservation treatments on the museum’s painting collection. Currently I’m working on two big projects. The first involves conserving three paintings by Joan Mitchell (1925-1992), an abstract expressionist painter, where I collaborate with a conservation scientist to analyze paint degradation due to the complex formulations of 20th-century paints. The second project focuses on a 19th-century Ras-Lila Pichwai, recently acquired by the museum. This involves a technical study of its creation and addressing significant damage from poor storage and material degradation, requiring careful consideration of ethical, technical, and practical treatment options.

Making paint swatches and mock-ups in different binders for degradation tests at Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Picture credit – Soraya Alcala (2024)

Additionally, I manage condition assessments for incoming and outgoing loans for special exhibitions, ensuring the safe transport of valuable artworks. I also assist with installations and deinstallations of paintings during gallery rotations. My work as a conservator also involves Integrated Pest Management (IPM) where I monitor pest activity in museum spaces and preventing them from infesting artworks. This includes identifying common pests, understanding their life cycles and quarantining works of art that have been infested. IPM falls under a larger banner of preventive conservation where we try to modify the environment around the artwork to prevent damage and degradation as much as possible instead of working directly on the artwork. This involves monitoring light, temperature and humidity in the areas where artworks are stored and displayed.

Moreover, I regularly present my research and treatments as papers in academic journals or at conferences. I also volunteer as an assistant coordinator for the International Council of Museums – Committee for Conservation (ICOM-CC) in their Paintings Working Group. One of my tasks here is to help in organizing the triennial ICOM-CC conference, one of the most prestigious conferences in the field of art conservation.

Last year, you conducted conservation workshops in India. What differences do you see in the way cultural conservation is approached here and abroad?

The main difference that I have seen in the way cultural conservation is approached in India and abroad is the importance given to professional conservation training as well as an emphasis on research and conservation science. India has only one fully dedicated program that teaches art conservation. There are other programs that teach 3–6-month courses or a semester of art conservation. This is not enough time to learn the intricacies, nuances and complexities that are faced when treating works of art. For instance, if you feel extremely sick, would you go to a doctor that has only 3-6 months of training or would you go to someone who has trained longer and in a professional accredited program?

Demonstration of cleaning methods at Cleaning in Conservation workshop at Lal Bagh Palace, Indore. Picture credit – Astik Bharadwaj (2024)

This disparity impacts the depth of expertise and specialization, as Indian conservators often manage diverse collections without specialized training and rely on on-the-job experience. Following the same medical analogy, if you had a heart problem, would you go to a skin doctor? 

Furthermore, access to conservation materials and research presents a challenge. Many materials, especially the brand names referenced in international literature, are not readily available in India and if they are available, they are expensive. This necessitates extensive local sourcing and material science investigations. Moreover, Indian art is very different from European or American art as artists from different regions were sourcing materials that were around them. Therefore, what works for a European canvas painting may not work for an Indian canvas painting. Adding to this, the unique climatic conditions in India also demand tailored conservation approaches, as Western-centric research is not directly applicable. There have been many instances where a successful western treatment was blindly replicated leading to irreversible damage and loss of our precious cultural heritage. Thus, effective conservation requires a thorough understanding of materials, their interactions, and environmental impacts, underscoring the importance of scientific methodology and specialized training. The goal is not merely to make something look new again, but the preservation of cultural heritage and its history for future generations.

India has a long way to go in advancing the field of preservation. Systemic challenges such as lack of funding, well-paying museum jobs, availability of resources, and public awareness need to be overcome. However, in the workshops I conducted, I saw that the next generation of conservators has taken up this challenge and is dedicated to advancing the field within the existing constraints. 

What are your plans for the future? What areas and ideas would you like to explore?

My conservation journey has spanned India, Europe and the United States, shaping me professionally and personally. I have slowly been learning how traditions, cultures and their preservation are approached in different countries. I would love to travel and work in South America and Africa and further expand my experiences. Ultimately, my long-term plan is to go into teaching and train the future generations of conservators in India.

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Get a closer look at Nikita’s work and the world of conservation through some videos on the Getty Museum Conservation Instagram page, here and here.