Les Causeries du ROM

High Stakes Moves: Stories of Preservation and Conservation of Flemish Masterworks

Christopher Etheridge, Associate Curator, European, American and Asian Art, National Gallery of Canada studied History of Art at the University of Toronto and Harvard University, where he received his doctorate. He is responsible for the National Gallery of Canada’s collection of painting, sculpture and decorative art from the Renaissance through to the first part of the 19th century. By bringing together technical art history – the study of artists’ materials and practices – and traditional art history, he hopes to better understand the full significance of these complex objects. He was co-curator of the dossier exhibition Rubens, Van Dyck and Jordaens, a re-examination of the Gallery’s holdings of 17th-century Flemish art. 

Stephen Gritt, Senior Conservator and Instructor at Queen’s University.  He is the former Director of Conservation and Technical Research at the National Gallery of Canada, now in private practice.  

Heidi Sobol, Senior Manager of Conservation and senior conservator of paintings at ROM is responsible for the paintings in the collections - whether they are constructed on flexible or rigid supports. Her conservation interests include technical art historical research and aqueous cleaning mechanisms of paintings.