Lara Kaplan - Objects Conservator

I earned an M.S. from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation (WUDPAC) in 2003, specializing in objects conservation, and gained additional training and experience at the Walters Art Museum, the Arizona State Museum, the National Park Service, the Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute, and the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.

In 2005, I started a Baltimore-based private practice, working with numerous cultural institutions and private individuals in the Baltimore/DC areas and beyond. In 2019, I relocated to Philadelphia and began working jointly as an objects conservator for Winterthur Museum and an Affiliated Assistant Professor at WUDPAC, where I primarily teach about the conservation of organic materials. 

I am also a peer-reviewed Professional Associate of the American Institute for Conservation.  Please click here for a comprehensive CV.

Selected Institutional Clients

  • Barnes Foundation (Merion, PA)
  • Baltimore Museum of Art (Baltimore, MD)
  • Baltimore Orioles (Baltimore, MD)
  • Brandywine River Museum (Chadds Ford, PA)
  • Johns Hopkins Archeological Museum (Baltimore, MD)
  • Ladew Topiary Gardens (Monkton, MD)
  • Maryland Historical Society (Baltimore, MD)
  • Maryland Science Center (Baltimore, MD)
  • Museum of Indian Arts and Culture (Santa Fe, NM)
  • National Park Service Harpers Ferry Center (Shepherdstown, WV)
  • Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (Washington, DC)
  • Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian (Washington, DC)
  • Winterthur Museum, Garden, and Library (Winterthur, DE)

Picture
Image by Lauren Fair

Selected Publications

  • Kaplan, Lara. 2021. “Organic Materials.” In Caring for Your Cherished Objects: The Winterthur Guide, edited by Joy Gardiner and Joan Irving. Winterthur, DE: Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum.
  • Kaplan, Lara, Connie Stromberg, and Antje Neumann. 2017. “Life Saving Measures: The Treatment and Display of a World War I-Era Harlem Hellfighters Gas Mask.” Tip presented at the 45th AIC Annual Meeting, STASH Flash Session, Chicago, IL, May 29–June 1, 2017.
  • Pouliot, Bruno P., Jennifer Mass, and Lara Kaplan. 2014. “Using XRF for the Identification of Chrome Tanning in Leather.” Poster presented at the 42nd AIC Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, May 28–31, 2014.
  • Kaplan, Lara. 2010. “Stabilizing a Vision: The Investigation and Treatment of Southwestern Pottery at the Barnes Foundation.” Poster presented at the 38thAnnual Meeting. Milwaukee, WI, May 11–14, 2010
  • Kaplan, Lara, and Judith M. Jacob. 2007. “The Fight to Save Civil War Graffiti: Plaster Consolidation Tests at the Lockwood House, Harpers Ferry, West, Virginia.” Paper presented at the 35th AIC Annual Meeting, Richmond, VA, April 26–20, 2007.
  • Odegaard, Nancy, Leslie Boyer, Melissa J. Huber, Lara Kaplan, Caroline Kunioka, Teresa Moreno, Cheryl Podsiki, Alyce Sadongei, David R. Smith, and Werner Zimmt. 2004. “New Ideas for the Testing, Documentation, and Storage of Objects Previously Treated with Pesticides.” In Objects Specialty Group Postprints, Volume 10, 2003, compiled by Virginia Greene, David Harvey, and Patricia Griffin. Washington, DC: American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works. 33–42.
  • Odegaard, Nancy, Melissa J. Huber, Lara Kaplan, Teresa Moreno, and Cheryl Podsiki. 2003. “S.S. White to the Rescue: Salvaging Fire-Damaged Baskets with the S.S. White/Pennwalt Airbrasion Unit.” Poster presented at the 31st AIC Annual Meeting, Arlington, VA, June 5–9, 2003.
  • Kaplan, Lara. 2002. “Conservation Through Investigation: Uncovering the Story of a Japanese Ceremonial Doll.” In Textile Specialty Group Postprints, Volume 12, 2002. Washington, DC: American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works. 105–118.