Conservation of Modern Art

On view were 17 modern works from the collection, including paintings, works on paper, and sculpture, which had undergone conservation treatments. “Before” photographs and an explanation of the conservation treatment were displayed alongside the art. Artists whose “resurrected” works were on view included Arshile Gorky, Joan Miró, Alexander Calder, Fernand Leger, Larry Rivers, and others. An accompanying audiovisual program focused on conservation of outdoor sculpture and went behind the scenes in the Hirshhorn’s conservation laboratory.