Gretchen Anderson, Objects Conservator

M.F.A., University of Minnesota (Museology and Art History)

Phone: (651) 221-4764
Email: conservation@smm.org

Gretchen Anderson established the Science Museum of Minnesota's Conservation Department in 1989. Her conservation training includes internships at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the American Museum of Natural History and additional courses at the Conservation Analytical Lab, the Canadian Conservation Institute, Getty Conservation Lab, and the Minnesota Historical Society. Dedicated to continued education in the field of conservation, she attends courses and workshops each year. She is a member of the American Institute for Conservation and the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections.

Ms. Anderson lectures and presents workshops, sometimes in conjunction with Research Associate Helen Alten, on preventive conservation, IPM, and practical methods and materials for storage of collections. She is committed to increasing public understanding of the role of conservation in preservation, both inside and outside of the museum.

Selected publications

Anderson, Gretchen and Rebecca Newberry. 2006. Tie It To The Tray! Safely Shipping Native American Artifacts. Collection Forum. 21(1-2): 151-161.

2003. Conservation of cuneiform tablets and cones. In von Dassow, Eva, Mesopotamia in Minnesota: Cuneiform Texts in Twin Cities Collections. University of Minnesota: Minneapolis.

2002. Managing natural history collections. Collections Management Manual. The Minnesota Alliance of Local History Museums Alliance for the Millennium Collections Initiative.

2000. A simple, quick mount briefly displays clothing for the Science Museum of Minnesota, Preservation in Storage and Exhibition Design. Collections Caretaker 2(4). Northern States Conservation Center.