About Conservation

Conservators stabilize, restore and preserve art and artifacts.

Stabilization

Art and artifacts in poor condition are at high risk of further damage. Stabilization, whether through treatment or well designed display and storage systems, prolongs the life of your art or artifact.

Restoration

Damage and neglect disfigure art. Restorative treatments help return objects to their former integrity. The materials and methods used at Fine Art Conservation are chosen to give the best results with the least intervention.

Preservation

The best way to increase the life of any valuable is to improve its environment. Whether you are the owner of a single artwork, or the caretaker of a large collection, I will work with you to devise a practical, comprehensive conservation strategy for the for long-term care of your valuables.

As a qualified conservator, I am bound by a code of professional ethics to provide the best care to the articles entrusted to me. All materials and procedures used in my treatments are fully documented in a written report to my clients.

Rebecca Pavitt, MA in Art Conservation
Accredited Member, Canadian Association of Professional Conservators (CAPC)

Professional Memberships

Canadian Association of Professional Conservators

Canadian Association for Conservation

American Institute for Conservation

Western Association for Art Conservation

Professional Experience

1988-present

Private Practice –Fine Art Conservation,
Vancouver, B.C.
Specializing in Artistic and Historic Works on Paper and Textiles

1977-1979

Registration Assistant,
Heritage Foundation,
Charlottetown, P.E.I.
Collection Management, Display Design and
Research, Documentation

Client List

Public Institutions and Galleries

Arts Umbrella, Vancouver
Barkerville Historic Town, B.C.
Belkin Art Gallery, UBC
B.C. Ferries
B.C. Hydro
Burnaby Art Gallery, B.C.
Canada Trust, Vancouver
Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver
Delta Museum and Archives
Emily Carr University Library
Evergreen Cultural Centre, Coquitlam, BC
Jewish Historical Society, Vancouver
Vancouver Holocaust Education Center
Kelowna Art Gallery, B.C.
Langley Centennial Museum, B.C.

North Vancouver Museum and Archives
Presentation House, North Vancouver
Revenue Canada
Shannon House, Vancouver
Shaughnessy Golf Club, Vancouver
Sunshine Coast Museum and Archives
University of Alberta, Special Collections
University of B.C., Special Collections
University of Northern B.C.
University of Victoria Archives
Vancouver Art Gallery
Vancouver Contemporary Art Gallery
Vancouver Maritime Museum
Vancouver Museum
Vancouver Yacht Club
West Vancouver Museum and Archives

Private Galleries

Art Emporium
Bau-Xi Gallery
Chali Rosso Gallery
Coastal People’s Gallery /
Diane Farris Gallery
Douglas Reynolds Gallery
Elliot Lewis Gallery
Equinox Gallery
Harrison Galleries
Heffel Gallery
Inuit Gallery
Marion Scott Gallery
Spirit Wrestler Gallery
The Cahen Archives
The Cahen Foundation

News

Rebbeca Pavitt: A Million Little Pieces

When Rebecca Pavitt was eight years old, she took an egg, made a couple of little holes in it and blew out its contents. Then she smashed it. Why? you ask.

“There was an anecdote that the nuns at my Catholic school told us about this bad little boy who broke a Fabergé egg, and as punishment he had to put it back together again. I thought what a lot of fun that sounded like,” she recalls, laughing.

Not knowing what a Fabergé egg was, the New York City-raised Pavitt used the next best thing. She didn’t quite manage to glue the shell back together, but the episode was a clear indication of where her life would lead…

– B.C. Business

Read the Article

Education

1984-1987. M.A. in Art Conservation (specializing in art on paper)  Buffalo State College, Cooperstown, New York

1980-1983. Diploma in Art History (specializing in Asian art)  University of British Columbia, Vancouver  First/Second Year Sciences (physics and chemistry)  University of British Columbia, Vancouver

1976-1977. Textile Arts and Leatherwork  Holland College. Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

1972-1976. B.A. University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown

1986-1987. British Columbia Provincial Archives (paper conservation)  Victoria, B.C.1986. Vancouver Art Gallery (paper conservation)  Vancouver, B.C.

1985. UBC Museum of Anthropology (textile conservation)  Vancouver, B.C.

1984. Cooper-Hewitt Museum (textile conservation)  New York, NY

1983. Los Angeles County Museum of Art (textile conservation), Los Angeles, CA  Caring For Textiles, (private conservation lab), Los Angeles, CA

2012. Cleaning Painted Surfaces, 3 day workshop taught by Richard Wolbers, Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, B.C.2012. Modular Cleaning Program, 5 day workshop taught by Chris Stavroudis, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA

2009. Maiwa Natural Dye Workshop, 2 day workshop taught by Charllotte Kwon, Maiwa East, Vancouver B.C.

2009. Making Museum Mounts, 2 day workshop taught by Carl Schlichting, Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, B.C.

2005. Digital Photography, one day workshop taught by Rosaleen Hill, Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, B.C.

2003. Textile Cleaning, Aqueous Methods – one day workshop taught by Richard Wolbers (University of Delaware), Peebles Island Conservation Centre, NY

2002. Mounting Textiles – Private Lesson, Royal School of Needlework, Hampton Court, England

2001. Lasers in Conservation – 2 day workshop, LACM, Los Angeles, CA

1997. In Praise of Japanese Scrolls – 8 day workshop on the construction and conservation of Japanese hanging scrolls, Vancouver, B.C.