**Please note that this course is now closed for September 2023 entry**

The MA Conservation of Fine Art programme (Easel Paintings) will provide you all the knowledge and skills necessary for a career as an art conservator.

This postgraduate programme aims to provide you with advanced knowledge and skills in both practice and research for the conservation of easel paintings. Northumbria University’s Conservation of Fine Art MA is the only Master of Arts programme in the UK that offers the specialisms in both the conservation of Easel Painting or Works of Art on Paper.

Our Conservation of Fine Art Masters programme aims to develop your skills in critical awareness, research, ethics and philosophy, art history, conservation science and the care of collections, in addition to honing the meticulous practical skills necessary to become a conservator.

It is the combination of meticulous practical skill, a sound knowledge of science, and passion for the art and art history that makes this Masters programme of interest to those from both a science and arts background.

Integrating a mix of studio practice, science and art history, the programme covers a range of subjects. You will study studio practice, conservation theory and ethics, science, art history and technical art history, preventive conservation and research skills.

The Conservation of Fine Art MA Easel Painings is a vocational programme and on graduation you will have all the highly specialised knowledge and skills to formally enter the conservation profession.

In order to broaden your cultural perspective and enhance your practical learning experience, you will also have the opportunity to carry out a placement in the Summer recess. Students carry out placements in institutions in the UK and globally; a number of hosting institutions over the years have included the British Museum, the National Museum of Australia, Royal Ontario Museum Tate as well as a number of private conservation studios.

We welcome applications from students from a wide range of academic backgrounds. Students come from a range of backgrounds including Fine Art, Art History and the Sciences.

You may also be interested in Conservation of Fine Art (Works of Art on Paper), please click here for more information.

If you’d like to browse what other postgraduate programmes we offer or have any queries, please get in touch.

Offering the opportunity for you to specialise in easel painting conservation, this programme consists of four modules that explore a range of key areas of study, including conservation theory and practice, conservation science, conservation ethics, art history and preventive conservation.

The programme covers a range of conservation treatments informed by current research in the field, and you will gain a plethora of valuable technical and academic skills including; conservation documentation, technical examination in addition to the structural repair, stabilisation, consolidation and cleaning of works of art.

Most importantly, you will develop the confidence and knowledge to critically evaluate your approach to conservation treatments and become a competent, confident and reflective practitioner. You will also develop a sophisticated understanding of the history, identification and deterioration of artist’s materials that are associated with easel paintings. Significant emphasis is also placed on ethics, advocacy, and developing your research skills.

The programme offers a combination of conservation theory and practice. Through a series of focused practical workshops, you will develop a broad range of skills in preparing and using conservation materials and equipment. Workshop activities are performed on a range of materials: from original works of art to historically accurate recreations that allow students to explore the limits of treatment that would not otherwise be possible with original works of art.

Assessment focuses on your theoretical understanding of practical methods and treatments in addition to conservation science, preventive conservation and help to develop your practical and communication skills and evaluate and reflect upon your conservation decision-making.

You will begin to develop ideas for your dissertation research in the first year and write a substantial dissertation at the end of the second year demonstrating your knowledge and understanding of a focused area of conservation theory or practice

This course is taught by a team of specialist academics who have extensive practical experience in the conservation heritage science sectors.

In additional to being practicing conservators and conservation scientists, academic staff are research-active and regularly carry out research and consultancy in the conservation and heritage science fields, enhancing research-rich learning and teaching on the programme.

The content of the course also aligns with the standards of professional bodies in the sector.

Throughout the duration of this course, you will receive ongoing support from teaching staff to ensure you leave equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to successfully pursue a career within the Conservation sector or a related discipline.

The MA Conservation of Fine Art programme is based at Burt Hall, a Grade II listed building, at the centre of Northumbria’s City Campus in the heart of Newcastle’s city centre.

Burt Hall boasts two state of the art, professionally-equipped conservation studios, together with a technical examination and photography unit, a microscopy suite and a materials analysis laboratory. Conservation studios are equipped with local fume extraction, tracked daylight balanced lighting, hot and cold low-pressure tables, heated sinks with reverse osmosis and deionised water purification systems. Each studio also contains large video screens to which macro and micro imaging systems are attached. Students also have access to an important archive collection of historic artists’ materials.

• Xenon-Arc fadeometer (accelerated ageing)

• Thermal and relative humidity chamber (accelerated ageing)

• X-Radiography

• Visible and Infrared Reflectance, and UV Fluorescence

• Vis, UVf and Green Light Optical Microscopy (OM)

• Polarised Light Microscopy (PLM)

• Colourimetry

• Glossimetry

• X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy

• Imaging Fourier Transform InfraRed (FTIR) Spectroscopy

Students may also have the opportunity to access other analytical facilities in the wider university, to support their second-year dissertation research, where available.

One of the most important aspects of the programme is the the development of your independent and self-directed study skills via our online learning platform, Blackboard Ultra. On this platform, you will access bespoke learning materials via online lectures, dynamic reading lists, video demonstrations, live online seminars and videos of guest lecturers from the professional conservation field.

Research-rich learning is embedded throughout all aspects of this programme. Our staff are continuously informed by developments in conservation research and global debates on conservation theory and practice.

Our staff possess individual specialisms within their field in areas such as the development and evaluation of conservation treatments for paintings, the materials and techniques of modern drawings, research on the conservation and safeguarding of cultural heritage collections at risk in world conflict zones, studies in material deterioration, the treatment of iron gall ink and oil paintings on paper, and the use of gels and lasers for conservation treatments.  

The programme takes an enquiry and research-based learning approach, which is strongly student-centered, and provides students with the opportunity to develop and enhance marketable skills in self-directed study, independent research, interpersonal learning and communication.

You will be encouraged to develop your own individual research  skills and knowledge in  a specialist area of the conservation of works on paper. Under the guidance of your assigned tutor you will design and implement a significant piece of research for your dissertation in the second year.