Oral History Center University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California Joyce Hill Stoner Joyce Hill Stoner: My Life in Art Conservation and Intersections with the Getty Getty Trust Oral History Project Interviews conducted by Amanda Tewes in 2019 Interviews sponsored by the J. Paul Getty Trust Copyright © 2020 by J. Paul Getty Trust Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley ii Since 1954 the Oral History Center of The Bancroft Library, formerly the Regional Oral History Office, has been interviewing leading participants in or well-placed witnesses to major events in the development of Northern California, the West, and the nation. Oral History is a method of collecting historical information through recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. The recording is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. The corrected manuscript is bound with photographs and illustrative materials and placed in The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and in other research collections for scholarly use. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account, offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is reflective, partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ********************************* Copyright in the manuscript and recording is owned by the J. Paul Getty Trust, which has made the materials available under Creative Commons licenses as follows: Manuscript is licensed under CC-BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and recording is licensed under CC-BY-NC (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Joyce Hill Stoner, “Joyce Hill Stoner: My Life in Art Conservation and Intersections with the Getty, ” conducted by Amanda Tewes in 2019, Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, under the auspices of the J. Paul Getty Trust 2020. Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley iii Joyce Hill Stoner, photograph by Lifetouch, 2018 Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley iv Abstract Joyce Hill Stoner is a professor of material culture at the University of Delaware, Director of the University of Delaware Preservation Studies Doctoral Program, and painting conservator for the Winterthur/UD Program in Art Conservation. Stoner was born in 1946 and grew up in the Washington, D.C., area. She graduated from College of William & Mary in 1968 and attended New York University, where she earned a masters in art history in 1970 and a diploma in art conservation from the Conservation Center in 1973. She earned her doctorate in art history from the University of Delaware in 1995. Stoner briefly taught at Virginia Commonwealth University before moving to Winterthur/University of Delaware in 1976. She has a long history with the J. Paul Getty Trust, including as a visiting scholar to and traveling with the Paintings Conservation Department in the 1980s, working as the managing editor of Art and Archaeology Technical Abstracts, and serving on committees with the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI). She has also been an interviewer and project director with the Oral History Archive Project for the Foundation for the Advancement of Conservation since 1975, as well as written and performed in many theatrical shows. This interview includes discussion about: growing up in the Washington, D.C., area; attending College of William & Mary, New York University, and the University of Delaware, as well as doctoral work on the treatment of James MacNeill Whistler's The Peacock Room; major developments in the field of art conservation, including training, literature, and technology; contributions of art conservators like David Bull, John Brealey, John Gettens, and George Stout; meeting husband Patrick Stoner and his career and studies in theater; teaching at Virginia Commonwealth University and then at Winterthur/University of Delaware since 1976; interviewing and conserving art for the Wyeth family; longtime association with the Getty Trust, including as an applicant, visiting scholar with the Paintings Conservation Department, as the managing editor of Art and Archaeology Technical Abstracts (AATA), serving on committees with the GCI, and receiving funding from the Getty Grant Program; history of AATA and FAIC's Oral History Archive Project; challenges in the field of art conservation, including sexism, diversification, and treatment controversies; ongoing theatrical work, which sometimes intersects with art conservation; the Getty's contributions to art conservation, including the UCLA/Getty doctoral program, supportive leaders and staff, and funding projects like the Panel Paintings Initiative. Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley v Table of Contents Interview 1: November 8, 2019 Hour 1 1 Birth in Washington, D.C., October 9, 1946 — Childhood in Chevy Case, Maryland — Father's work as an editor for the Evening Star — Family connections in politics and entertainment — Mother's work as a French and piano teacher — Paternal family history in Alabama — Conservation of family portraits — Tuskegee project — Decision to attend public school — Early interest in art and theater — Parents' appreciation of art — Experimentation with art styles in college — Introduction to art conservation by Thomas Thorne — Family values of good manners and public appearance — Parents' racial attitudes — Rebellious behavior against parental expectations — Mount Holyoke College and posture pictures — Gloria Steinem on Stoner's father — Experiences as a woman in art conservation — Work ethic — Application to the College of William & Mary — Coursework in fine arts — Graduate program in conversation at New York University (NYU) — Overemphasis on Western art — Increase in art conservation programs and scholarship — 1966 Florence flood and Mud Angels — Choosing art conservation as a career — Intersection of art history, science, and studio art — Art history programs, 1970s versus 1990s — Research at NYU Hour 2 20 Emphasis on technical skills in modern art conservation programs — Apprenticeship system and application process — Apprenticeship with Charles Olin — Public interest in art conservation — Specialization and diversification of the art conservation field — Charles Olin's techniques — 1976 Ottawa conference — Interest in painting conservation — Continued involvement in theater — Marriage to Patrick Stoner — Patrick's theater education in Virginia — Working in Virginia as an NYU student — 1973 graduation from NYU — Employment at Virginia Commonwealth University and Winterthur — Experiences as a teacher — Interview with the Getty — David Bull and Norton Simon — J. Paul Getty — Work with the Getty Trust in the 1980s — History of Art and Archaeology Technical Abstracts (AATA) — Experience as managing editor of AATA, 1969– 1983 — Digitization of AATA — Transfer of AATA from the British Museum to the Rome Centre — Transfer of AATA to the Getty in 1983 — Continued work with AATA — Structure of AATA, editorial board and volunteer work — Conservation and Art Materials Encyclopedia Online (CAMEO) Hour 3 38 Importance of AATA in research — John Gettens and George Stout as leaders in conservation and personal mentors Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley vi Interview 2: November 8, 2019 Hour 1 40 Influence of Gettens and Stout — Oral History Archive Project for the Foundation for the Advancement of Conservation (FAIC) — Teaching career from Virginia Commonwealth University to Winterthur — Decision to settle in the East Coast — Patrick's connections in Los Angeles — Travels as a visiting scholar — Caroline and Sheldon Keck — Charles Hummel and the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation — Johannes Hell's and Helmut Ruhmann's conservation methods — Structure of the Winterthur program — Changes in teaching style — 2019 Yale conference — Technical and mental skills of a conservator — Advantages of having a joint program with University of Delaware — Comparison to other programs — Recent projects by University of Delaware's PhD students — Implementing the doctoral program — Caroline Keck's financial support — Intersection between the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs — Completion of her PhD in the 1990s — Dissertation research on James McNeill Whistler — Emphasis on art history over conservation in doctorate program — Management of work as both student and administrator Hour 2 58 Conservation work at the Freer Gallery of Art — Whistler's The Peacock Room — Return to the Freer as a researcher — Restoration of The Peacock Room — Dinner with the Getty Board of Trustees — Timeline of The Peacock Room project — Getty Grant Program — Work as a painting conservator at Winterthur — Conservation and artistic integrity — Interview with Jamie Wyeth — Critical reception of Andrew Wyeth's art — 1997 interview with Andrew Wyeth — Andrew Wyeth's painting techniques — American Institute of Conservation (AIC) and Foundation for Advancement in Conservation (FAIC) — History of AIC and FAIC — Becoming the FAIC executive director — Creation