The Chicago Conservation Center: Credentials and Qualifications


• Company:
• Founded over 24 years ago – The Chicago Conservation Center is a national resource for the conservation of art.
• Client base includes repeat business from major private collectors, corporations, museums, galleries, public institutions as well as major national insurance and restoration companies.
• 9 conservation departments as well as a museum-quality custom-framing department, an expert full-time staff of 5 art handlers, a 24-hour Disaster Response team, 5 registrar/inventory control staff members and 7 administrative staff members.
• National sales representatives in Florida and Texas.
• Two facilities – total 22,000 square feet.
• 20,000 square feet of optional emergency storage.
• Two company owned trucks: air-ride, temperature and climate-controlled, alarmed with GPS tracking.
• Professional security rating in the top 5%.
• $5 million worth of contents coverage.
• $1.25 million worth of in-transit coverage.
• Professional liability coverage of $2 million for conservators.

NOTE: The Chicago Conservation Center is the first and only art restoration company to have secured professional liability coverage from an insurance company – a testimony to the quality of conservators on staff at The Center.  The policy was written by AXA Art Insurance Corp, a premiere international insurer of fine art.

• Conservation Staff:
• 30 full-time employees including 17 conservators with Chief Conservators serving as department heads for each primary area of art and furniture including: Paintings, Murals, Works of Art on Paper, Photograph, Rare Books, Textiles, Sculpture, Frames and Gilded Objects and Antique and Fine Furniture.  Also offer specialty services in Custom Framing, Transportation and Installation and Disaster Response.  These conservators all have a degree in conservation from a reputable institution or have been trained by a known expert in their field of specialty.
• In addition to the Chief Conservator, each department head has at least one senior, associate or assistant conservator.
• Conservation staff has a 300+ cumulative years of conservation experience and are members of the American Institute of Conservation and Historic Works (AIC).
• All conservators follow standard ethical procedures that are as non- invasive as possible, and use reversible techniques whenever possible.

• Heather Becker, Chief Executive Officer:
• CCC employee for 18 years.
• Author of “Art for the People”, published by Chronicle Books.
• Member of 20 associations and 4 boards (both for-profit and not-for-profit).
• 2004 Small Business Person of the Year award from the State of Illinois.
• 2002 award from Mayor Richard M. Daley, City of Chicago: recognition award for mural preservation project throughout the Chicago Public Schools and as author of “Art for the People”
• 2000 CINE Golden Eagle National Award for Arts and Education for "The Mural Preservation Project" documentary.
• 1998 Richard H. Driehaus Landmark Preservation Council of Illinois President's Award for Mural Conservation at the Chicago Public Schools