Please introduce yourself and tell us about the work you do. I work on the care and preservation of the National Gallery's paintings collection. There are several people in the Paintings Department. Some are more toward the Renaissance, some Impressionist. But conservators do have to be capable of working on a painting from any period.
Conservators examine and record the condition of pictures that are on loan.
They set treatment priorities for paintings that need restoration. They give advice about repairing paintings that have been vandalized or damaged in the galleries. Basically, conservators check the structural integrity and visual readability of each work. We also accompany pictures as they travel to exhibitions. A conservator goes along with the painting to ensure that it's handled with care at all times.