RICHARD MULHOLLAND

Conservation in a Conflict Zone: Assessing War-Damaged Paintings

Richard Mulholland's talk started with a disclaimer, please do not take any photos of the slides. Even with rescue projects in place and an immediate threat no longer present, the people involved in these stories are still at risk. Mulholland talked about the destruction of monuments and antiquities in places such as Nimrod, Bamiyan and Palmyra. He focused on a particular paintings collection held at a national museum. The staff went beyond dedication to hide, replace and overpaint any works that contained images of people, the target of the enemy. By doing this they risked their lives. Mulholland is working with these people to return their collections to their original glories. Many painting were physically destroyed or suffered damage due to their hiding place. The first phase of Mulholland's work was to assist staff with an assessment of what could be saved within their collection, funded by the British Council's Cultural Protection Fund and Department for Digital, Cultural, Media and Sport. They have also just received funding for a second phase to train staff in conservation practices.

I have had many discussion since the conference with various people about this talk. Would they do the same thing? Would they be willing to risk their lives to protect collections? Would you?

I like to think I would be brave enough. The people in this story are truly heritage heroes.