Passionate conservation and fine arts professional with 20 years of international experience in cultural heritage and the art world, specialised in delivering bespoke advice and solutions to clients in both the public and private sectors.
About
Ms. Fly was drawn to conservation from a young age, and focused her studies accordingly. After receiving a BA and graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Mary Washington College as a double-major in art history and historic preservation, she went on to train in the conservation of fine arts (specializing in paintings) at New York University’s Conservation Center. She received a postgraduate certificate in the conservation of easel paintings from the Hamilton Kerr Institute at the University of Cambridge, and received a Samuel H. Kress Fellowship in support of her work on the Fitzwiliam Museum’s collection of French Paintings.
In her training and subsequent experience, she has worked on a great variety of paintings, from the sarcophagus of Ramses II to a 14th-century Greek icon to a 19th-century decorative scheme in a Nantucket house to large contemporary pieces in mixed media. She enjoys the challenges presented by such varied work, and her special interest is in the structural treatment of canvas paintings, which allows her to combine her personal passion for textiles with her love of paintings.
With 20 years of international experience in paintings conservation and collections care, she works with museums, private collectors, galleries, and other stewards of cultural heritage to preserve and protect their objects. She has led practical workshops and presented at conferences on a range of collections care activities, and has served as Chair of Conservators in Private Practice for AIC. Her specialties extend beyond treatment to include a longtime passion for collections management, best practice guidance, and raising public awareness and understanding of conservation.
She opened her own studio, the Fly Arts Initiative, in May 2011 to work more closely with clients, both private and institutional, in caring for their collections.