STAFF
Paul Messier is an independent conservator of photographs working in Boston Massachusetts, USA. Founded in 1994, his studio provides conservation services for private and institutional clients throughout the world. The heart of this practice is unique knowledge and ongoing research into photographic papers. The Messier Reference Collection of Photographic Papers plays a vital role in this work. Continuing with the private practice, Paul was appointed head of the newly formed Lens Media Lab at Yale University in 2015. He received a Masters of Arts and certificate of advanced study in the conservation of works on paper and photographs from the art conservation program at the State University of New York College at Buffalo (SUNY).
Diane Tafilowski is a Conservator of Photographs and Art on Paper, and has worked at the Paul Messier studio since 1996. Diane specializes in advanced flattening and cleaning techniques applied to 20th century gelatin silver photographs. Diane earned her B.F.A. at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, where she studied automotive and product design, and graduated cum laude. She received a Masters of Arts and certificate of advanced study in the conservation of works on paper and photographs from the art conservation program at the State University of New York College at Buffalo (SUNY).
Karina Beeman is a Conservator of Photographs and Art on Paper at the Paul Messier studio. She joined the studio in 2008, after completing an Advanced Residency Program in Photograph Conservation at the George Eastman House, Rochester, NY, as an Andrew W. Mellon Fellow. She received a diploma in oil and tempera painting conservation from Rerih College of Art, and her MA in History of Art and Art Criticism from the Repin Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. From 1998-2007 she worked as a conservator in the Oriental Painting Conservation Laboratory of the State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia.
