Crystal Maitland

Senior Conservator (Works of Art on Paper), Treatment and Collection Care – Objects, Paper and Archaeology Division

Main areas of work and/or specializations

• conservation treatment and preservation of paper-based objects
• gellan gum preparation and treatment applications
• treatment possibilities for iron- and copper-containing media on paper

Biography

Crystal Maitland has a Master of Art Conservation (Paper) as well as a B.Sc. (Hons) in Chemistry from Queen’s University. Prior to joining the paper laboratory of the Canadian Conservation Institute in 2015, Crystal held the role of paper conservator at the Sheridan Libraries and Museums of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. As a part of her conservation studies, she completed internships at Library and Archives Canada, the City of Vancouver Archives, the Vancouver Art Gallery and the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia. Crystal also completed postgraduate internships and fellowships at the Queen’s University Archives and the Sheridan Libraries. While still a chemistry student, she worked for a summer with Dr. Alison Murray’s conservation science research group at Queen’s University, contributing to a project in which she analyzed the effects of surface cleaning on acrylic gessoes and paints. Her graduate research project focused on antioxidant treatments for iron- and copper-containing media on paper.

Crystal’s ongoing research interests include stain reduction techniques for art on paper, innovations in aqueous treatments for paper objects, as well as exploring treatment possibilities for iron- and copper-containing media on paper.