Conservation

The Hippocratic oath, “First do no harm,” could just as well be the first tenet of museum conservators. Robert Aitchison of the L.A. conservation group Aitchison and Watters says 70% of all damage to works on paper is from destructive framing practices. But there are also natural forces at work in the potential threats to art. Controlling California extremes of light and heat, not to mention earthquakes, are among the challenges that the collectors on the following pages have addressed. As Robert Ross, who collects 15th century European engravings, says, “My hope is that my collection can carry on for another 500 years.”

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Resource Guide

Tool kit (bristle brush, double-headed spatula and arc-nose tweezers), $18, at Tri-Art, a division of Museum Systems, Los Angeles, (310) 391-3883.