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CAREERS

Essential Skills:
Good manual dexterity; good colour vision and some artistic ability are essential.

Ways to enter the Profession:

Courses are held at  the Courtauld Institute, the Hamilton-Kerr Institute and the  
University of Northumbria

Entry is normally at Postgraduate level.  

Or you may wish to become a trainee or apprentice in the studio of an established professional. If you are interested in this route please send your CV to the Secretary who will forward it to the Fellows, if they require trainees.

Remember competition is fierce for both routes. 
Apply in good time.

Professional Development and Earning Potential:

To become a competent restorer takes a great deal of experience and practice. Fellowship, the professional qualification of the Association,
is open to those who have completed seven years’. study and practical experience, and then only when they can pass a practical examination
of their ability and knowledge.

Salaries in the museums and galleries follow appropriate Civil Service grades, whereas in the private sector they will vary widely depending on experience and competence. Entry salaries in the Civil Service tend to be higher than those in the private sector, but at the top of the profession larger salaries can probably be earned as a private restorer. A picture restorer has to be willing to take responsibility. In the private sector he or she will be working for dealers or collectors who have invested large sums in their paintings, whereas in museums and galleries he or she will be responsible to the curator and trustees whose task it is to safeguard the paintings for the public. The work can entail preserving and reinforcing the support of a painting (whether on canvas, metal or wood), the removal of dirt, varnish and old discoloured restorations, and making the necessary retouchings and applying a protective coat of varnish. Each one of the operations has many alternative solutions: it is the restorer's job to choose appropriate methods and materials as well as to carry out the work. Restorers are often asked for opinions as to the authenticity and age of a painting.

It is a profession in which you can never ‘know it all’; there is simply so much to learn. Thus if you do become a successful restorer you will have more than a job, or even a profession, you will have an absorbing interest which will last you for life .

CAREERS INFORMATION: PRINTABLE BOOKLET