Welcome to CONSERVATION SCIENCES
Science for Art Collections, Archives, Architecture, and Archaeology
About Conservation Sciences Art Conservation Explainer
Dr. Eric Doehne has more than 30 years of experience in the analysis and preservation of cultural heritage.
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Eric at the Alamo
Eric teaching in Karnak, Egypt
WHAT WE DO
At the intersection of art and science, heritage and legacy, Conservation Sciences is an international consultancy that provides clients with independent, interdisciplinary scientific expertise to evaluate, diagnose, and preserve their cultural heritage.
Our mission is to investigate, understand, and preserve art collections, architecture, archives, and archaeology through sound science, education, training, and collaborations with a network of highly qualified conservation professionals. Understanding a work of art and how to stabilize it often requires scientific analysis, diagnosis, and technology.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is Art Conservation & Heritage Science?
What is the role of permanence in a change-driven society?
SERVICES
- Science for Art, Architecture, Archaeology, and Archives
- Scientific/Technical studies for cultural heritage planning and preservation
- Digital Preservation and Restoration - 3D capture and Calibrated Imaging
- Expert Witness and Art Forensics for sourcing loot and authenticating art
- Computational Imaging: hyperspectral imaging, environmental electron microscopy, reflectance transformation imaging, and focused ion beam analysis for art conservation
- Investigation and diagnosis of art, architectural, and archaeological materials
- Building materials investigations: conservation of stone, wall paintings, and masonry
- Analysis and diagnosis of soluble salt, rising damp, and efflorescence problems; poulticing and treatment recommendations
- Environmental impact on heritage materials
- Environmental monitoring of cultural heritage
- Interdisciplinary courses in heritage science and material culture, art crime and forensic science, artists’ materials, art conservation, climate change, and world heritage
- Training in the use of specialized instrumentation and forensic methods applied to works of art
- Museum science: history of technology and technical art history
- Chemistry and technology of ancient pigments, glass, and stone
- Inorganic materials characterization and archaeometry
COURSES OFFERED
Scripps College, Art Conservation Major: With a focus on how science and technology are changing how we understand, preserve, and disseminate material culture in the 21st Century
- ARCN 115 Art and Crime: Plunder, Fakes, and Forensics (Fall 2014, Spring 2017, Spring 2020, Spring 2022)
- ARCN 101 Intro to Art Conservation (Spring 2011; Fall 2012, Spring 2018, Fall 2022)
- ARCN 110 Artists’ Materials and Technologies–Ancient and Modern (Fall 2011, Fall 2013, Fall 2016, Spring 2019, Fall 2021, Fall 2023)
- ARCN 120 Global Tourism, Climate Change and World Heritage Preservation (Fall 2011, Fall 2015, Fall 2018, Fall 2020, Spring 2024)
- ARCN 125 Preserving Cultural Landscapes (Spring 2016, Spring 2021)
- ARCN 144 Digital Preservation and Cultural Sustainability (Fall 2017, Fall 2019, Spring 2023)
Course for ArtCenter College of Design, Pasadena, CA
HSCI-207A: Artifacts, Crime + Materials
(Spring 2024)
RESEARCH
Articles by Eric Doehne can be found at PublicationsList.org, Google Scholar, ResearchGate.net, and Academia.edu
MEDIA, PROJECTS, & DOWNLOADS
Recent article featuring Eric’s digital preservation class at Scripps College, ARCN144: May 11, 2023 Digital Preservation Class Digitizes Scripps Campus and Archives | Arts and Culture | by Lauren Mar ’25
News Articles on the results of a June 2023 Federal trial in Los Angeles. Eric Doehne provided expert testimony for the Department of Justice about his 2019 scientific study of the mosaic for the FBI:
- CNN - California man convicted for smuggling Byzantine-era Hercules mosaic from Syria
- Courthouse News - Southern California man found guilty of smuggling ancient Roman mosaic into US
- AP News - California man convicted of illegally importing an ancient mosaic from Syria
Download Time-lapse and ESEM Clips
Stone Conservation: An Overview of Current Research (Second Edition) PDF, a book on Stone Conservation by Eric Doehne (Scripps College) and Clifford Price (UCL) Order print version here: Getty.edu Amazon.com Amazon.co.uk Amazon.de
Evaluating the condition of the Lummis House in Los Angeles for Occidental College, team member
Imaging Changes: Smartphone Cameras and Citizen Science Meet Heritage Conservation, at AAAS
HSR for The Alamo, San Antonio, Texas: Alamo Church and Long Barrack: Materials Testing, Conservation Science, and Recommendations Report by Eric Doehne
English Heritage and the Getty Conservation Institute - Magnesian Limestone
Salts and Desalination talk, New Orleans, LA. Salts of the Earth: Conservation of Historic Masonry Impacted by Salts and Rising Damp - A Symposium of the Louisiana Museum Foundation: Eric Doehne “Salts and Desalination - Myths and Realities”
PUBLIC LECTURES
Invited Guest Lecture, The San Diego Museum of Art: “Ahead of Her Time: Ellen Browning Scripps and the Story of Travel, Art, and Cultural Sustainability” October 16, 2020
The Art Detectives: How to Cheat Time, Investigate Art, and Sustain Culture, Scripps College, Fine Arts Foundation, Special Public Lecture Series, presented by Eric Doehne:
- March 6, 2019 - “Art Forensics or How to Tell Real Art from Fakes”
- March 27, 2019 - “Artist Materials from Ancient to Modern Times”
- April 10, 2019 - “Object Lessons and Art Detectives”