Preservation is one of the key missions of a museum. A museum’s preservation and conservation efforts are therefore often closely intertwined with the history of the museum. Conservation departments not only care for the objects in a collection but also strive to preserve the tangible and anecdotal information that documents how these efforts were carried out in the past, and by whom. Conservator, Bart Devolder, elaborates on past preservation efforts of the Art Museum and situates the Museum in the broader picture of the history of conservation in the United States.