From an AP story in today's Wyoming Tribune-Eagle:
The Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody has secured funding to hire a conservator to care for the center's collections.
"We're delighted with the generosity of our donors who have made this position possible," said Robert B. Pickering, deputy director for Collections and Education. "A conservator will allow us to enhance the care for our collections, especially those objects which are made of perishable materials that can deteriorate over time.
"The funding totals $1.6 million and provides an endowment, the income from which will permanently fund the conservator's salary and related expenses.
"Conservators really understand the physical properties of art and artifacts -- what is the ideal environment in which to preserve them," Pickering explained. "Many of our collections' objects were simply never meant to last. This is why within the conservation field there are specialists in paper, textiles, watercolors, sculptures and the like. With the breadth of our collection, we'll need a 'big picture' person."
The historical center, which boasts world-class exhibits of historic firearms and western art, will launch a national search and hopes to have a conservator in place by early 2008.
