Lead Conservation Housing and Framing Technician

Title: Lead Conservation Housing and Framing Technician

State Role Title: Hist/Arch & Preserv I

Hiring Range: $55,000

Pay Band: 3

Agency: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Location: MAIN MUSEUM

Agency Website: https://www.vmfa.museum/

Recruitment Type: General Public - G

About Virginia Museum of Fine Arts: 

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond is one of the largest comprehensive art museums in the United States. VMFA’s growing encyclopedic collection houses more than 50,000 works of art spanning 6,000 years of world history.  

Our holdings include the largest public collection of Fabergé outside of Russia, the finest collection of Art Nouveau outside of Paris and one of the nation’s finest collections of American art. VMFA is also home to important collections of Chinese art, English silver, French Impressionism, Postimpressionism, British sporting art, and modern and contemporary art, as well as renowned South Asian, Himalayan, and African art. 

Recently named the 11th-best art museum in the United States by The Washington Post, VMFA is the only US art museum open 365 days a year with free general admission. 

VMFA is a state-supported, privately endowed educational institution created for the benefit of the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its purpose is to collect, preserve, exhibit, and interpret art, to encourage the study of the arts, and thus to enrich the lives of all. 

About the Department: 

The Goode Center is a vibrant research, treatment, and training center dedicated to advancing the field of conservation, art history, and science through joint study with conservators, curators, scholars, and scientists. Opened in 2010, the Goode Center is one of the largest conservation facilities in the southeast and is outfitted with advanced analytical and examination capabilities including hyperspectral, infrared, and multiband imaging, scanning and portable x-ray fluorescence, FT-IR, microfade testing, polarized light microscopy, and computed x-radiography.

Position Description:

Utilizing the highest standards of conservation ethics and a focus on long-term preservation, the primary objective of this position is the housing and framing of works on paper within the collection of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts for safe display, transit, and storage. Working collaboratively within the Paper Conservation Department and across the museum, this position will provide critical support for the work of the paper conservation lab through handling, unframing, mounting, framing, creating microclimate packages, and bespoke storage enclosures for works on paper. The Lead Conservation Housing and Framing Technician will employ the highest conservation standards and ethics in order to preserve the integrity as well as the aesthetic and historic significance of each work while meeting the programmatic needs of the museum. They will work in collaboration with other conservation specialists, as needed, and advise on handling, mounting, installation and deinstallation. The Lead Conservation Housing and Framing Technician will also have public engagement and educational responsibilities such as participating in laboratory tours, speaking to visiting groups, responding to public inquiries, presenting housing and framing projects to museum visitors, and mentoring interns and junior staff. National and international travel may be required for various activities of this position including research, conferences, workshops, teaching opportunities, and/or support for exhibitions, loans, and new acquisitions.

Job Duties:

Utilizing the highest standards of conservation ethics and a focus on long-term preservation, the primary objective of this position is the housing and framing of works on paper within the collection of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts for safe display, transit, and storage. Working collaboratively within the Paper Conservation Department and across the museum, this position will provide critical support for the work of the paper conservation lab through handling, unframing, mounting, framing, creating microclimate packages, and bespoke storage enclosures for works on paper. The Lead Conservation Housing and Framing Technician will employ the highest conservation standards and ethics in order to preserve the integrity as well as the aesthetic and historic significance of each work while me