Handling and Maintenance of Historic House Collections 2027
Includes a Live In-Person Event on 01/11/2027 at 11:00 AM (EST)
Online component: November 10, 13, 16, 20, 2026, at 1-2pm ET
In-person component: January 11-15, 2026, Rosson House, Phoenix, AZ
Instructors: William Donnelly, Trish Smith, Paige Schmidt
Coordinator: Kelly McCauley Krish
The workshop explores the relationship between movable collections, their history of use, and their long-term preservation in a historic house setting across the five days onsite at the Rosson House. Interpreting the history of Phoenix from late Territorial to early Statehood in an 1895 Queen Anne Victorian, Rosson House has the wide range of collection materials, preservation projects, and commitment to community engagement to offer. Through a mix of lectures, tours, discussion, and hands-on projects, participants will practice:
- photo documentation and condition reporting of movable collection objects;
- handling and housekeeping in interpreted rooms;
- developing housekeeping and building maintenance plans for sites;
- identifying potential health and safety concerns within collections;
- addressing preventive conservation priorities, such as storage organization and upgrading light mitigation measures.
The breadth of interdisciplinary topics reflects the wide needs of historic sites, and this information can then be used by participants upon return to their home institution to help guide the future care of their movable collection. The preservation of the site and house itself are also intertwined in this, as acknowledged and discussed throughout; however, these are similarly large topics that cannot be fully addressed within this workshop.
Participants are required to attend four live online webinar sessions taking place in November.
Interested individuals must apply by October 11, 2026. Space is limited to 10 participants. Application review and the selection will take place following the deadline based on the criteria for review listed on the Apply to Participate tab. Registration to participate is free and participants will receive free accommodations during the in-person component of the workshop, as well as a $500 travel stipend.
Funding for this program comes from a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Additional support comes from the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation (FAIC) Endowment for Professional Development, which was also created by a grant from the Mellon Foundation and is supported by donations from members of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) and its friends. Workshops are made possible with the assistance of many AIC members, but no AIC membership dues were used to create or present this workshop.
Interested individuals must apply by October 11, 2026. Registration to participate is free and participants will receive free accommodations during the onsite portion of the workshop, as well as a $500 travel stipend. Participants must commit to participating in the four online sessions as well as the full five-day in-person component.
Criteria for Review:
- Need for the content; priority will go to individuals currently working in an historic house.
- Plan for applying and/or disseminating information gained.
- The program seeks to support a diverse set of participants and will consider geographic location, place of employment, profession, and career level. Priority will go to individuals from underserved or under-represented groups.
William Donnelly
William Donnelly holds a BFA in sculpture from the University of Delaware, an M.A. in preventive conservation from Northumbria University, and a museum studies certificate in Indigenous cultural heritage from the Institute of American Indian Arts. As Winterthur Museum’s preventive conservator, he leads a six-person team focused on integrated pest management, lighting, environmental monitoring, and collection care. He is also an affiliated assistant professor for the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, teaching graduate and undergraduate courses, advising students, and serving on program committees.
Trish Lowe Smith
Trish Lowe Smith is Vice President of Preservation, Archaeology, and Collections for Drayton Hall Preservation Trust where she has worked since 2010 leading efforts in architectural research and conservation, exhibit design and fabrication, and collections care. Smith has a B.A. in Art History from the USC Honors College and an M.S. in Historic Preservation from Clemson University. Beyond her work at Drayton Hall, she holds teaching and leadership roles with Clemson University’s Historic Preservation Program, the Association for Preservation Technology International, and AIC’s Lowcountry Alliance for Response.
Paige Schmidt
Paige Schmidt owns and works as an objects conservator for Dogwood Workshop, LLC. She is also the Wooden Objects Conservator for the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, which provides preservation and conservation support to all of the state’s parks and over 30 historic sites. Paige previously worked as an objects conservator at The Mariners’ Museum and Park, where she helped establish the museum’s current conservation program and worked collaboratively across departments to establish, update, and implement preservation policies and procedures. She holds an MA from Buffalo State University with a certificate in conservation. Her training includes internships at several historic house and living history museums, including the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the Frick Collection, and Biltmore.
Kelly McCauley Krish (Moderator)
Kelly McCauley Krish was the Preventive Conservator at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, where she helped implement preventive practices across 30 historic structures with movable collections. Her previous experiences include advising historic houses across the country on sustainable preservation practices through the Image Permanence Institute, holding a conservation internship with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, and serving on a project to document historic houses on Long Island. Kelly holds an MS from the University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation and a BA in Historic Preservation from the University of Mary Washington.
