Paul Schwartzbaum has had an extremely distinguished career in the conservation art and cultural property. Chief Conservator of the Soloman R. Guggenheim Museums, Chief Conservator of ICCROM, winner of the AGA KHAN Award, restoration of the Sistine Chapel, technical consultant for Frank Gehry's masterpiece in Bilbao. He is available for private consultations or projects.
The Guggenheim
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Positions held at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation
NEW YORK CITY (SRGF)
2009- 2013 | Senior Technical Advisor And Conservator for Museum Construction and Overseas Exhibitions
1992- 2009 | Chief Conservator and Technical Director of International Projects
1987- 1992 | Chief Conservator and Assistant Director (Technical Services)
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Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, ITALY
1987 - 2013 | Chief Conservator
1980 - 1987 | Conservator and Museology Consultant
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Principal Duties for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation
Assisted in the installation of dozens of major exhibitions at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museums and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection
Chief technical consultant for the SRGF’s new museum construction initiatives including Bilbao, Berlin, Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi; involving close collaboration with architects such as Frank Gehry Partners and Rem Koolhaus / OMA, etc.
Supervised several world tours of “Masterpieces from the Guggenheim Museum” and numerous other major Guggenheim exhibitions on tour
Performed and supervised the conservation of paintings by many important modern masters including Kandinsky, Braque, Picasso, Delauney, Renoir, Ernst, Pollock, Brauner etc.
Team member for the recent restoration of the Frank Lloyd Wright Guggenheim Museum in New York
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Museum Design
Advisor on technical systems for the protection and preservation of works of art, including:
Climate • Gallery Lighting and Window Treatment • Security • Fire Detection and Suppression • Hanging Wall Construction • Off Gassing • Thermal Inertia • Insulation and Waterproofing • Prevention of Condensation.
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Technical consultant to the following architects and projects:
Gehry Partners, LLP
2006 – 2013
SRGF team member for the design of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Museum, United Arab Emirates
Rem Koolhaus / OMA
2001
SRGM chief technical consultant for the Guggenheim Hermitage Jewel Box Exhibition Space at the Venetian Hotel, Las Vegas (design of magnet mounting system for paintings, and the lighting, and security systems)
Frank O. Gehry & Associates
1994 – 1997
SRGM design team member for the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain, (part of the opening installation team, supervised commissioning of technical systems, and “lit” the galleries of the opening installation and several other exhibitions, including “The Art of the Motorcycle” and “China: 5,000 Years”)
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Similar projects for non-Guggenheim entities:
Gluckman Mayner Architects
1996 – 2005
Junta de Andalucia / Picasso Family principal technical consultant for the conversion and construction of the Museo Picasso Málaga, Spain (conservation, installation, framing, climate, security, interior lighting etc.)
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Architectural Conservation
Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects
1990 – 1992
SRGM consultant on technical issues related to the conservation and restoration of the interior of the Frank Lloyd Wright Guggenheim Rotunda, New York
WASA Architects
2004 – 2009
SRGF team member for the restoration of the Frank Lloyd Wright Guggenheim Museum, New York
Read about the Guggenheim Restoration:
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Conservation of Works of Art
Performed and supervised the conservation of paintings by many important modern masters including Kandinsky, Braque, Picasso, Delauney, Renoir, Ernst, Pollock, Brauner etc.
Victor Brauner’s Consciousness of Shock, 1951
The conservation of the painting Consciousness of Shock is included because it was an extremely difficult conservation treatment involving extremely poor artist's technique of Wax encaustic paint applied to Masonite. The paint layer had been actively detaching from its support since it creation.