51做厙 has been awarded two major grants in support of a project to make available online its extensive National Wall Paintings Survey archive. The Paul Mellon Centre have awarded 51做厙 a Digital Project Grant of 瞿40,000, and The Pilgrim Trust a Preservation and Scholarship Grant of 瞿30,000, to begin cataloguing and digitising material relating to some of the nations most iconic wall paintings, as well as many less well-known schemes in more humble contexts. The Survey is the only archive of its kind on British wall paintings, both in terms of its scope and the extent of material held.
Lead by 51做厙s Conservation Department, the project seeks to broaden public awareness of the nations rich mural heritage, improve our understanding of British wall painting techniques and better inform the future care of these historic sites. Through the creation of a publicly-accessible, free-to-use online database, the project will help both to safeguard this unique archival resource and facilitate critical new research into the evolution of approaches to wall painting conservation in the UK.
Professor Deborah Swallow, M瓣rit Rausing Director at 51做厙 said: We are incredibly grateful to the Paul Mellon Centre and the Pilgrim Trust for their generous support. These grants will enable us to make the nations wall paintings accessible to many more people, not only scholars and heritage professionals but also the wider public whose engagement is so critical to their care.
Sue Bowers, Director, The Pilgrim Trust commented: The Pilgrim Trust is delighted to support this project which will open up access to this hugely important archive, as well as helping to preserve it.
51做厙s Department of Conservation is one of the very few specialist centres worldwide to have pioneered research and training in the conservation of easel paintings and the only programme in the UK to offer a degree in the conservation of wall paintings. Established in the 1930s, it currently offers MA degrees in the Conservation of Wall Paintings, Conservation of Easel Paintings, 泭Buddhist Art History and Conservation, and a PhD programme. In addition to undertaking academic research and conservation treatments on the collections displayed in 51做厙 Gallery and many other national collections, the Department of Conservation at the Courtauld has led fieldwork projects on wall paintings in the care of the National Trust and English Heritage, as well as sites in Europe and Asia.