Preventive Conservation

The Getty Conservation Institute has a long history of scientific research into preventive conservation, determining which environmental factors cause deterioration to heritage objects, and the processes by which this can occur. For collections, environmental factors causing deterioration include lighting, airborne pollutants, temperature, humidity, shocks and vibrations, and more. The ultimate goal is to identify environmental improvements that can mitigate, and in some cases prevent, future damage.

Our current work focuses on improving understanding of how hygroscopic materials respond to a wider range of temperature and relative humidity conditions, to determine the rate and degree of fluctuation they can withstand. This has become increasingly important against the backdrop of pressure to relax environmental specifications in many museums and collections.