Skip to main content
NGC logo
  • Visit
      • Hours
      • Admission
      • Location and Parking
      • Shopping, Dining and Amenities
      • Groups
      • Schools
      • Accessibility
      • Floorplan
      • Audio Tours
      • Visitor Code of Conduct
    • Hours
    • Admission
    • Location and Parking
    • Shopping, Dining and Amenities
    • Groups
    • Schools
    • Accessibility
    • Floorplan
    • Audio Tours
    • Visitor Code of Conduct
  • What's on
    • Delve deeper into the Gallery’s diverse art awards and related exhibitions, honouring the remarkable achievements of individuals and organizations.

      • Exhibitions and Galleries
      • Events Calendar
      • Public Sculptures and Gardens
      • Plan your Visit
      • Touring Exhibitions and Loans
      • National Engagement
      • Venice Biennale
      • Art Awards
    • Exhibitions and Galleries
    • Events Calendar
    • Public Sculptures and Gardens
    • Plan your Visit
    • Touring Exhibitions and Loans
    • National Engagement
    • Venice Biennale
    • Art Awards
  • Learn
      • For Kids and Families
      • For Adults
      • For Schools
      • Wellbeing and Community Programs
    • For Kids and Families
    • For Adults
    • For Schools
    • Wellbeing and Community Programs
  • Collection
      • Search the Collection
      • Recent Acquisitions
      • Collecting Areas
      • Restoration and Conservation
    • Search the Collection
    • Recent Acquisitions
    • Collecting Areas
    • Restoration and Conservation
  • Research
      • Library & Archives
      • Search the Gallery Collection
      • Image Reproduction
      • Art Databases
      • Provenance
      • Past Exhibitions
      • Fellowships
      • Prints, Drawings and Photographs Study Room
      • Artwork not on Display
    • Library & Archives
    • Search the Gallery Collection
    • Image Reproduction
    • Art Databases
    • Provenance
    • Past Exhibitions
    • Fellowships
    • Prints, Drawings and Photographs Study Room
    • Artwork not on Display
  • Shop
  • Membership
  • Magazine
  • NGC Foundation
  • Tickets
Search
  • EN
  • FR
Search

Search

Search form

Advanced Search

Content Type

  • (-) Remove All Results filter All Results
  • Article Apply Article filter
  • Press Release Apply Press Release filter
  • Page Apply Page filter
  • Exhibition Apply Exhibition filter
  • Artwork Apply Artwork filter
  • Artist Apply Artist filter
  • Event Apply Event filter
SEARCH
Close advanced search
Two historical paintings and restoration tools in the National Gallery of Canada restoration and conservation lab.

Restoration and Conservation

Our team of conservators and conservation technicians plays a vital role at the National Gallery of Canada.

Each year in the Restoration and Conservation Laboratory, our team examines nearly 2,000 items in various media, ranging from paintings and sculptures to frames, decorative art and much more.

This essential work ensures that objects are preserved for the benefit of present and future generations. Some objects are explored in greater depth, researched and restored to allow them to be clearly understood, and returned to an apparence close to their original state.

Learn more about some of the team’s exciting projects on this page, and follow a few of the objects that are keeping them busy in the lab.

Collection

  • Search the Collection
  • Recent Acquisitions
  • Collecting Areas
  • Restoration and Conservation

Featured Videos

NGC House Blend – August 6

Listen in as Marie-Catherine Cyr, Assistant Conservator of Paintings, talks about the main conservation challenges the team encountered during the pandemic.

 

NGC House Blend – May 14, 2020

NGC Senior Conservator of Contemporary Art, Geneviève Saulnier, speaks about the many surprises she has encountered when it comes to preserving contemporary works of art.

 

Restoring The Empress Josephine Marble Bust

Watch how our conservation team prepared the marble bust Empress Josephine, by Joseph Chinard, for its big moment at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

 

What a "pochade" is?

Pochades are small paintings, typically produced rapidly by an artist working outdoors. Learn more about their conservation with Stephen Gritt, Director of Conservation and Technical Research.

 

Restoration and Conservation: Woolsey's Cup

Follow the journey of the Woolsey Family's Caudle Cup, from acquisition to presentation in the Canadian and Indigenous Galleries. 

 

Restoring Ron Moppett's Whatif/Twilight

Learn more about an exceptional restoration treatment for the centrepiece to Ron Moppett's polyptych Whatif/Twilight, which had been submerged during the 2013 Calgary floods.

 

View more videos

Featured Content

Lawrence Alma-Tadema Sientje Tadema, 1860, oil on oak
Your Collection

Lawrence Alma-Tadema's "Portrait of Sientje": a Technical Examination

Technical analysis of Alma-Tadema's portrait of his cousin Sientje has revealed that he repurposed an older panel painting.
November 29, 2023
Program stuudent Tirza Harris in the RCL lab at the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, 2021
In the Spotlight

Different perspectives: diversity in art conservation

The NGC's Conservation Internship for Diversity aims to support and increase the representation of conservation professionals from diverse communities.
February 11, 2022
Jean-Siméon Chardin, The Governess , 1739. Oil on canvas
Your Collection

Chardin and Social Commentary in 18th-century France

In the late 1730s, Chardin conceived two genre paintings as a pair that depict day-to-day domestic interactions on different social levels.
November 18, 2021

Collection

  • Search the Collection
  • Recent Acquisitions
  • Collecting Areas
  • Restoration and Conservation

Ankosé – Everything is connected – Tout est relié

National Gallery of Canada
380 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, ON, Canada
K1N 9N4
Directions

613-990-1985
1-800-319-2787
TTY: 343‑317‑6800
[email protected]

Footer

  • About the Gallery
    • Land Acknowledgement
    • About the Director
    • Mission Statement
    • Our History
    • Governance
    • Building
    • Our Brand Story
    • Initiatives
    • Strategic Plan
    • Accessibility Plan
  • For Professionals
    • Media
    • Museums
    • Photographers
    • Travel Trade
    • Vendors
  • Contact Us
    • FAQ
  • Careers
  • Venue Rentals
  • Support the Gallery
    • Annual Giving
    • Sponsorship
  • Image Reproduction

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Youtube
  • Bluesky

Stay informed
Subscribe to receive newsletters, invitations, articles and more.

Sign Up

Sub Footer

  • Privacy Notice
  • Terms of Use
  • Social Media Guidelines

Copyright © 2025 National Gallery of Canada.

Canada