Fraser Spafford Ricci :: Fine Art Conservation and Restoration, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Conservators

For all our clients, from the private collector to the corporate or institutional custodian, our conservators are ready to advise on preservation needs and carry out stabilization, repair and restoration treatments in a skilled, yet practical, manner. Our conservators have advanced education in art conservation and have worked at cultural institutions (art museums, historic museums, archives) before entering private practice.

We are active members of the conservation community, helping to further the state of knowledge in the conservation profession as well as expand our own opportunities for learning. We have written technical notes and articles for professional journals, attended national and international conferences, delivered talks at conferences and symposiums, served on boards and of conservation and museum associations, and participated in peer review panels.

Our lab has conservators with different specialties working together to provide a cohesive approach to the examination, assessment (surveying), and conservation treatment of collections of art and archival material. This benefits collectors and museums wishing to preserve or restore a collection of art or archival objects and those recovering from disasters such as fire and flood.

Sarah Spafford-Ricci
Principal Conservator of Fine Art

Sarah Spafford-Ricci received a Bachelor of Science (H.Ec.) from the University of Saskatchewan and a Master of Art Conservation from Queen's University (Kingston, Ontario). With many years of experience in public museums and galleries she brings to the practice of conservation a varied treatment background and a special skill with cleaning, repair and restoration of contemporary art, and art with mixed media and unusual materials.

Sarah has examined thousands of Canadian paintings in treatment assessments and in museum conservation surveys. She has amassed a very large body of experience in the conservation and restoration of art by Canadian artists, from historic to contemporary.

Sarah has worked in the conservation labs of the Glenbow Museum (Calgary, AB), the Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto), the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa), the Royal Saskatchewan Museum (Regina, SK), and the MacKenzie Art Gallery (Regina). Sarah was editor of conservation standards manuals for the Saskatchewan and Alberta provincial museums associations. She has written museum and conservation articles on disaster response and recovery, conservation assessments and surveys, and care of public and corporate art. At the Royal Saskatchewan Museum, she participated in a year-long recovery and response effort following a massive fire at the museum.

Sarah has served on the boards of the Canadian Association of Conservators (CAC) and the Saskatchewan Museums Association and is currently British Columbia's representative to the CAC. She has been chosen for adjudication panels for the Getty Conservation Program (USA), the Government of Canada Museums Assistance Program, and the Canadian Association of Professional Conservators.

Tara L. Fraser
Principal Conservator of Paper

Tara Fraser holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Certificate in chemistry from the University of Saskatchewan and Master of Art Conservation (ABT) from Queen's University (Kingston, Ontario). Tara has particular experience with treating watercolours, nineteenth and twentieth century prints, and contemporary paper works. She has a depth of experience with preservation of archival materials and the matting and mounting of paper.

Tara has worked in the conservation labs of Oxford University (Oxford, UK), Saskatchewan Archives Board (Regina, SK), Queen's University Archives (Kingston, ON), and the AP Fine Art Paper Conservation lab in New York City. In 1996 and 1997, she was Conservation Consultant at the Smithsonian Institution Archives in Washington, D.C., where she wrote the disaster plan for the archives, headed a team that surveyed over 10,000 cubic feet of archival materials, and prepared 3,500 cubic feet of archival records for relocation to National Underground Storage and for digitization.

Tara has served as provincial representative to the Board of the Canadian Association of Conservators and as conservation reviewer for grants for the Canadian Archivists Association. She was the author of the Archival Heritage Strategy for the province of Saskatchewan and has written articles on conservation of archival materials, disaster planning and preparedness, and the care of public art.

Christine Foster
Conservator of Paintings

Christine Foster holds a Master of Arts in History of Art from University of Aberdeen, Scotland, and a Master of Arts in the Conservation of Easel Paintings from University of Northumbria at Newcastle (UK), where she trained under paintings conservator Alan Phenix. In Europe, Christine worked in the conservation labs of the National Gallery of Scotland, the national conservation lab of Historic Scotland in Edinburgh, and the Marischal Museum in Aberdeen, and in the United States at a Boston private paintings conservation lab. Christine has a solid knowledge of both British and American painting practices, and her treatment skills are particularly suited to the restoration and conservation of historic British and European paintings.

Nadine Power
Conservator of Fine Art

Nadine Power holds a Bachelor of Arts (Art History) from the University of British Columbia and a graduate degree from the Courtauld Institute of Art (London, UK) in the Conservation of Easel Paintings. While in the UK Nadine worked in the conservation departments of Westminster Abbey and the Tate Galleries as well as spending time in private fine art conservation studios.

Recently, Nadine worked on projects at the Vancouver Art Gallery, the Museum of Anthropology at University of British Columbia and conserving totem poles at Simon Fraser University. Nadine has the benefit of up-to-date training in the latest techniques in conservation. Her research and treatments have spanned all media, but she has particular experience in the area of modern and contemporary paintings.

Nicole Natingor
Conservation Assistant

Nicole Natingor holds a Bachelor of Arts in archaeology with a focus on museum studies from Simon Fraser University (British Columbia). For the past eight years, Nicole has worked in collections management, research, and preventive conservation at various museums in British Columbia, including the Chinese Cultural Centre Museum and Archives in Vancouver, White Rock Museum & Archives, and, most recently, at the Delta Museum and Archives. Nicole continues to assist local museums with records/collections management and collections databases on a contractual basis. Nicole's museological background is an important asset to FSR's conservation consulting and lab work.

Jocelyn Ramos
Conservation Technician

Jocelyn Ramos has an undergraduate degree in office administration from Polytechnic University of the Philippines. She also holds a Certificate in Office Administration from Vancouver Community College. In addition to performing administrative activities, Jocelyn has trained under our lab conservators to become proficient in conservation technical work and applying preventive conservation improvements to works of art and archival material.