Ref: 15XX Paintings Conservation
The Bowes Museum HLF Skills for the Future Internship
12 months Oct 2015 – Sept 2016 (35 hours per week Monday – Friday)
Venue: The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, Co. Durham.
Supervisor: Jon Old
Educational Stipend: £16,000
The Bowes Museum, in partnership with Icon, and with the generous support of the Heritage
Lottery Fund is offering a programme of Paintings Conservation internships from 2014 to
2019. This is the second year when the Museum will host a paintings intern to work within the
conservation department at the Bowes Museum.
The intern will be supervised by an experienced paintings conservator, working alongside
others in the conservation department. The intern will gain hands on experience and
undertake conservation assessments and treatments on items from the Museum’s acclaimed
collection of European paintings acquired by John and Josephine Bowes. This includes one of
the largest collections of Spanish Paintings in any British museum. More information is
available at www.thebowesmuseum.org.uk
As part of the conservation team, the intern will gain practical, preventive and workplace skills,
tailored to help them develop their career in conservation. Projects throughout the year will
include:
 Conserving paintings for exhibitions and displays
 Conservation audit
 Preventive conservation of the painting collections
 Preparing paintings for loan/ tour
 Regular contributions to The Bowes Museum blog
 Publicising the work of the department through networking with other professionals,
attending conferences, publications etc.
By the end of the internship, candidates will have produced a portfolio of their work, enabling
them to apply for posts in museum and galleries, historic buildings or further formal
programmes in conservation education and training.
You do not need to have any conservation qualifications to apply for this internship, although
some previous experience of paintings or conservation will be beneficial (see below). We are
looking for people with initiative, willingness to learn, and a strong commitment to developing a
career in conservation. Applications from minority ethnic backgrounds or people with
disabilities are welcomed. This Positive Action Training (PAT) is allowed for under Section 158
(c) of the Equality Act 2010, enabling people from minority ethnic backgrounds, or people with
disabilities to gain experience in occupational sectors where they are under-represented.
For further information about PAT, please contact Mary Mickle, HR Officer. We are happy to
have an informal and confidential discussion about any queries you may have about the
internship.
It is essential that you can demonstrate the following for this internship:
interest in conservation; manual dexterity/painting skills; good colour matching skills and
attention to detail; highly self-motivated, able to organise tasks and own workload; produce a
high standard of work; work independently, and as part of a team; good verbal and written
communication skills; confidence with IT programmes, such as Microsoft Office
It would be useful to know if you have any of the following: Knowledge of the history of
art; a recognised qualification in conservation, OR relevant work experience; Understanding of
conservation principles and ethics; knowledge of chemistry; knowledge of The Bowes Museum
and its collections
Candidates will be asked to present a portfolio with evidence of their conservation work
and/or related painting skills at the interview
Please apply using the application form on the Icon website only.
Closing date: 12 noon on 19th June 2015
Interviews will be held the week of 3rd August, with start date 19th Oct 2015