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The Intermuseum Conservation Association (ICA) is a non-profit regional art conservation center located in Cleveland, OH. It was the first such regional conservation laboratory in the United States. The ICA currently offers conservation and preservation treatments for paintings, murals, works on paper, documents, objects of all media, outdoor sculpture, monuments, and textiles. It employs over 20 conservators and staff.
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History
The ICA was founded in 1952 on the campus of Oberlin College in Oberlin, OH. Six directors of major Midwestern museums wanted to create a professional art conservation laboratory. Richard Buck from the Harvard Art Department was the first director of the ICA and served for 20 years. In 2003, the ICA left Oberlin and moved to its current location on the Detroit Shoreway in Cleveland. The new building was once the headquarters of the Vitrolite Company, manufacturers of a popular opaque glass used in 1920s-1950s interior and exterior design. The Vitrolite Building is on the National Register of Historical Places. The ICA is currently restoring the last surviving Vitrolite glass-decorated showroom in the country, for use as an educational and public meeting space.
Services
The ICA has departments for architectural, object, textile, paper, and painting conservation. Beyond conserving and restoring pieces of art, the ICA offers materials analysis, disaster response services, fine art storage, insurance claim assistance, custom mounting and framing, and educational programs.