Paul Messier's Bio (continued)
Messier is a co-developer of a unique survey methodology to assess large, decentralized, photograph collections. This methodology has been applied at Harvard University, the Library of Congress, the State Hermitage Museum, Yale University, the New York Public Library and is being tested at the Smithsonian Institution. Through the support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Messier is currently directing an initiative to establish a department of photograph conservation at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia and is consulting with the Museum of Modern Art to assist with the characterization of key prints made between the World Wars.
Messier is the author of numerous articles that appear in leading conservation journals and is a regular speaker at professional conferences and collector groups around the country, including those affiliated with the National Museum of American Art, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the High Museum, the Milwaukee Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Nelson Atkins Museum.
Service to the field of conservation is a longstanding commitment. Among other contributions, Messier founded the Electronic Media Specialty Group of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) and was appointed program chair for the AIC annual meeting in Philadelphia (2000). He chaired AIC’s Publications Committee (2001 to 2004) and was elected to two terms to the AIC board as Director of Communications (2004 & 2007). He currently holds the position of Associate Editor for electronic media preservation for the Journal of the American Institute for Conservation.
He holds an A.B. cum laude in art history from Vassar College and an M.A. and Certificate of Advanced Study from the Art Conservation Program at Buffalo Sate College, State University of New York. His training includes an apprenticeship with José Orraca, an internship with Anne Cartier-Bresson and a research fellowship supervised by Timothy Vitale at the Smithsonian Institution.