Conserving Canvas

Conserving Canvas ensures that conservators remain prepared to care for paintings on canvas supports through training, information dissemination, and scientific research.

• The training of dozens of conservators in new techniques, methods, and skills related to the structural care of paintings on canvas
• The conservation treatment of more than 25 significant paintings, ranging from the 17th - 20th centuries, at museums around the world
• In 2019, Yale University’s Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage University hosted the Conserving Canvas Symposium, the first international gathering on the topic of the conservation of paintings on canvas since 1974

Conserving Canvas is an international grant initiative focused on the conservation of paintings on canvas, which are held by museums in virtually every part of the world. Since 2018, the Foundation has awarded 38 grants to 31 institutions in Europe, the United States, and Latin America.

For the first few years of the initiative, grants supported both museum conservation projects and professional development opportunities such as training workshops for curators and conservators. From 2023 to early 2024, grants focused primarily on training workshops, with limited support for treatment project as long as they included a significant workshop component. As of March 2024, we are no longer accepting proposals for new grants. Active projects will continue into 2025.