Conservators at the National Gallery are responsible for the preservation of the collection. Treatment and restoration are important parts of this work, but our main goal is to prevent damage from occurring in the first place. The Preventive Conservation Department is focused on identifying, monitoring, and mitigating risks to the collection. The department was formed in 1984 as Exhibitions and Loans Conservation. Exhibiting and lending are vital functions for any museum, but they also pose risks to collections. With years of experience managing these risks, the department’s transition to Preventive Conservation in 2014 was a natural progression.

Preventive Conservation works closely with colleagues throughout the Gallery to ensure the safety of our collections. We participate in light and environmental monitoring in the galleries, pest management, material testing, exhibition design and installation, emergency preparedness planning, loan preparation, and collection storage. In addition, the department is responsible for the conservation and maintenance of the Gallery’s extensive frame collection. Artworks in their own right, frames are also integral to the preservation of the paintings that they surround. The work of frame conservators and preventive conservators dovetail nicely, and this connection forms the foundation of the Preventive Conservation department.

Frames play an important role in the presentation of paintings, from both an aesthetic and preservation standpoint. The frame conservation staff integrates traditional skills and techniques with modern materials and approaches. Conservators restore antique frames and help to ensure that the frames provide adequate support for the works they are meant to protect. The department carries out hundreds of treatments, large and small, each year in support of the Gallery's extensive exhibition and loan programs.

Visitors to an art museum may never realize how important a frame is to their enjoyment of a work of art. Not only do frames protect and support artwork, but their design and materials must complement and enhance the art without overpowering it. The National Gallery of Art has an established policy of using period frames whenever possible, substituting reproduction frames in an appropriate style when necessary.