Preservation and Partnership: Art conservation course treats Tuskegee photographs

At the beginning of January 2022, first-year graduate students in the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation (WUDPAC) were tasked with preserving more than 60 photographs from the Tuskegee University Archives. This assignment was part of their three-week, 9-to-5, Photograph Conservation course, centered on photograph process identification, treatment and preservation strategies, and global collections advocacy. The WUDPAC students were joined by a second-year photograph conservation student from Buffalo State College and two guest students from the University of Delaware: a first-year art history Ph.D. student and an undergraduate Art Conservation major.  Together, the group worked to examine, document, stabilize, and rehouse the collection of intriguing and powerful photographs from Tuskegee University, while strengthening their photograph preservation knowledge and skills. 

The photographic collection in the Tuskegee University Archives documents the history and growth of Tuskegee University, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), since its founding in 1881. The Archive's goal is to identify, collect, and preserve records and items relevant to Tuskegee University and document Black life, education, and history in Alabama and across the Southeast. The Archive contains books, Tuskegee University periodicals, ephemera, video and audio recordings, photographic images, and other items. There are around 200,000 photographs in the collection, which makes up a significant portion of the Archive. 

​Dana Chandler, Tuskegee University's archivist, selected roughly 60 images from the photograph collection for conservation treatment during the January course. Chandler chose photographs based on their importance, uniqueness, condition, and historical context. The selected photographs, many seriously damaged, document life at the University as early as the 1890s and through the 1940s. The photographs display a variety of processes, including the tintype, albumen, platinum, and silver gelatin developing-out. Three notable photographers from the University's Photography Division are featured in the collection: Cornelius M. Battey (1873-1927), Prentice H. Polk (1898-1984), and Arthur P. Bedou (1882-1966). The photographs depict various classroom scenes, skilled trade demonstrations, scenes around campus, faculty and staff portraits, and members of founding principal Booker T. Washington's family. Additionally, there were images of Tuskegee University's expanding campus. Several silver gelatin photographs document the twentieth-century buildings and the iconic “Lifting the Veil of Ignorance" statue, which honored Booker T. Washington and his contributions to his community and Black history.

During the course, students were responsible for condition reporting, research, documentation, before- and after- treatment photography, conservation treatment, and rehousing. Utilizing skills learned throughout the course, students stabilized and repaired the Tuskegee photographs. Selected treatments were deployed, including surface cleaning use dry and wet techniques ranging from soft brushes and cosmetic sponges to 50:50 deionized water/ethanol solutions, as well as tear repair, gelatin binder consolidation, pressure-sensitive tape removal, and reversible inpainting of damaged surfaces using watercolor and colored pencils. Students collaborated at every stage of the process, demonstrating additional treatment methods to their peers and consulting with the art history doctoral student for assistance with historical research. By the end of the course, the students had successfully conserved the entire collection of photographs, rehoused them in polyester sleeves and archival folders to ensure proper storage and handling, and recommended preventive conservation strategies. Their collective efforts will help Tuskegee University Archives prepare for the later digitization of these materials, making these images and their stories available for future research and scholarship. 

Following completion of the Photograph Conservation course, students expressed greater confidence in the process identification that helps direct treatment strategies. Daniella Briceño Villamil, WUDPAC '24 noted “Before the block, I had knowledge of photography as an artistic process, with darkroom and digital photography, but I think the process of identifying nineteenth- and twentieth-century photography was different. The process identification really allowed me to see those differences because it changes so much when you analyze layer structures and supports. Close looking under the microscope helped to ingrain the knowledge in me." 

The students were also grateful for a hands-on learning experience that served such a valuable and historic institution. Several students remarked that the experience allowed them to learn more about Black history in the United States. Reflecting on treating the Tuskegee University Archive photographs, Tammy Y. Hong, WUDPAC '24 stated, “It was really rewarding to be able to work with collection objects and really experience how being a cultural conservator is ultimately about the people you serve and connecting communities."

The students' experience conserving photographs from the Tuskegee University Archives demonstrates the importance of collaboration, partnership, and preserving the libraries and archives at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU). HBCU collections, like those at Tuskegee, are rich repositories that document Black life and the history of the United States. These archives contain important artifacts that allow communities and scholars to trace history from the antebellum period to present day. As the Photograph Conservation course demonstrated, institutions like Tuskegee University Archives benefit greatly from conservation, preservation, and digitization efforts, which helps make collections even more accessible to a wider audience. We are thankful to Tuskegee University Archives for being stewards of their important collection and for the opportunity to contribution to preserving the archive for generations to come.

— Elizabeth S. Humphrey, Ph.D. Student, Art History, University of Delaware