SARAH BARACK

began September 2017

Sarah Barack received a Masters of Art History and a certificate of Conservation from the Conservation Center, Institute of Fine Arts at New York University in 2003, with a focus on objects conservation. She subsequently completed a post-graduate internship at the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago, followed by a Mellon Foundation Fellowship in the Sherman Fairchild Center for Objects Conservation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she researched German late-Gothic stained glass workshop practices. Sarah stayed on as an Assistant Conservator, working primarily on glass and ceramics objects for several different curatorial departments. Sarah then completed a Masters of Business Administration at Columbia Business School and launched a private conservation studio based in Brooklyn, New York. For clients including major museums, auction houses, collectors and small house museums, Sarah treated a range of objects but always returned to researching her main passion, the history of glass technology. Throughout this time, Sarah also dedicated herself to teaching and organizing technical art history programming at New York University and at the Yale University Art Gallery.​ Sarah is currently Head of Conservation and Senior Objects Conservator at the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum.

TOPIC: Technology of Early American Glass

​Building on a small grant to investigate cutting-edge treatment processes for an 18th-century American glass campaign decanter set, Sarah began looking into technical studies of Colonial and early Republic period glass. Although this topic has been studied over the course of the 20th century, questions remain concerning analysis of various regional compositions as well as the relationship between technical advances and glasshouses, the workers (who often immigrated from Europe), and the ultimate market for these goods. Sarah’s research will focus on this topic, delving deeper as she identifies collections with which to work and ultimately prepares her dissertation proposal.