Gettens Award
The Rutherford John Gettens Award recognizes outstanding service to the association.
Criteria
Outstanding service to the association may include activities such as the following:
- Service on the board, committees, task forces, and working groups
- Service on the editorial board of our publications
- Service in Specialty Group activities (i.e. officer, editor of publications, program chair)
- Service in public outreach activities and education of allied professionals
- Fundraising for our programs
- Promoting the importance of conservation and the work of the association to national, regional, and local leaders in government, business, media, public, and private foundations
Rutherford John Gettens (1900-1974)
Rutherford John Gettens (1900-1974) was born at Mooers, New York. He recieved his science degree from Middlebury College in 1923. He became the chemist of the Department of Technical Studies at the Fogg Art Museum in 1928, and was awarded his Master of Arts degreee from Harvard in 1929. Together with George Stout, co-authored Paintings Materials: A Short Encyclopedia, published in 1942 and still highly regarded and cited in the field. In 1974, Mr. Gettens, urged AIC to begin collecting its history, which resulted in the FAIC Oral History Project. The first interview was a roundtable discussion held on September 4, 1975 at the AIC Annual Meeting in Mexico City. Now officially in the Winterthur Library under the Winterthur archivist, the collection includes over 200 interview transcripts. Interviewers include graduates and students from all American conservation programs, and many international conservators.
Boothroyd Brooks, Hero. A Short History of IIC: Foundation and Development. London: The International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, 2000.