Fiona T. Beckett

Fiona T. Beckett, M.A.C.

Associate Professor Rockwell Hall 230
Phone: (716) 878-5025
Email: becketft@buffalostate.edu

Education
M.A.C. (Master of Art Conservation - Specialization in Paintings Conservation) | Queen’s University, Canada
B.F.A. in Honors Fine Arts | University of Ottawa, Canada

Biography
Fiona Beckett is the Associate Professor of Paintings Conservation at the Garman Art Conservation Department, joining the faculty in January 2018. She balances teaching and overseeing student treatment projects with her own technical research and service. Prior to her appointment at Buffalo State, Fiona was the Clowes Conservator of Paintings at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields (2014–2017), where she conducted imaging, technical analysis, and conservation of the museum's Clowes Collection of European Old Master paintings. She also developed the Conservation in Clowes exhibition series to highlight live conservation work in the gallery. Previously, she served as the Director’s Trust Fellow in Paintings Conservation at the National Gallery of Canada, where her conservation of Thomas Couture’s large-scale Supper After the Masked Ball culminated in a Masterpiece in Focus exhibition.

Fiona routinely collaborates on research and treatments with both students and local and national institutions, including Buffalo AKG Art Museum, the Memorial Art Gallery, and the Buffalo History Museum, among others. Recent projects include the large-scale treatment of the 19th-century painting Springtime by American artist Ridgway Knight, the investigation and treatment of Marisol’s Untitled, 1962 in partnership with the Buffalo AKG, and a collaborative technical analysis of Rembrandt’s Portrait of a Young Man in an Armchair with the Memorial Art Gallery. Fiona is a Professional Associate of the American Institute for Conservation and served as the Editor of the Paintings Specialty Group Postprints (vols. 36–37).

Peer-Reviewed Publications

  • Green, C., Beckett, F., & Rayermann, G. (forthcoming~2026-2027). Ashes to pigments in The Death of Saint Joseph: Technical study of a seventeenth-century Peruvian painting. Materia Journal, (6).
     
  • Beckett, F., Ploeger, R., Chen, J., Gold, S., Marino, K., & Green, C. (forthcoming~2026-2027). Stuck in the middle: Treatment decisions surrounding a rare painting by Marisol adhered to Plexiglas. In Future Talks 025: Innovative Case Studies in the Conservation of the Modern. The Conservation Department of Die Neue Sammlung - The Design Museum.
     
  • Marino, K., Beckett, F., & Rayermann, G. (forthcoming). Ivory portrait miniatures. Book Chapter. In C. Girard & S. Grandin (Eds.), Rethinking the material afterlives of animals, 1500-1800. St. Francis Xavier University.
     
  • Beckett, F., & Lavelle, M. (2023). A history of over 50 years of SUNY Buffalo State’s paintings conservation education. Journal of the American Institute for Conservation, 63(1), 52–73. https://doi.org/10.1080/01971360.2023.2237785
     
  • Beckett, F., & Shugar, A. (2022). Following the light: Use of multimodal imaging and fiber optic spectroscopy to evaluate aging in daylight fluorescent artists’ pigments. Colorants, 1, 208–225. https://doi.org/10.3390/colorants1020013
     
  • Guidera, S., Beckett, F., & Hamilton, E. (2022). Investigation into consolidants for reverse glass paintings. In R. Gridley & V. Schussler (Eds.), Recent Advances in Glass and Ceramics Conservation 2022 (6th Interim Meeting of the International Council of Museums - Committee for Conservation [ICOM-CC] Glass and Ceramics Working Group). icom-cc-publications-online.org
     
  • Beckett, F., & Smith, G. D. (2022). Restoring a “broken” tulip: Analysis-informed conservation treatment of Ambrosius Bosschaert the Younger’s 17th-century floral still-life. Conservation 360º, 2. https://monografias.editorial.upv.es/index.php/con_360/article/view/399
     
  • Beckett, F., Holden, A., Smith, G. D., & Castronovo, P. (2019). Seeing the light: Research, conservation and exhibition of a 1980s daylight fluorescent painted leather jacket designed by Sprouse and painted by Castronovo. Journal of the American Institute for Conservation, 58(4), 1–18. tandfonline.com

Digital Museum Catalogues & Technical Reports

  • (2014–2022). Numerous Authors. Technical studies of Old Master paintings. Masterpieces from the Clowes Collection: Paintings at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields. (Includes technical entries for Titian, Tintoretto, El Greco, Jan Brueghel the Elder, Corneille de Lyon, Claude Lorrain, John Constable, Joshua Reynolds, and Giovanni Bellini and others). theclowescollection.org; (https://dev-paintings.theclowescollection.org/browse/technical-reports/all/)

Conference Presentations

  • Beckett, F., Ploeger, R., Chen, J., Gold, S., Marino, K., & Green, C. (2025, November 8). Stuck in the middle: Treatment decisions surrounding a rare painting by Marisol adhered to Plexiglas [Conference presentation]. Future Talks 2025: Innovative Case Studies in The Conservation of The Modern, Munich, Germany.
     
  • Sperber, R., Beckett, F., & Chipkin, A. (2025, May 27). Developing a legacy of online digital catalogues at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields [Conference presentation]. 53rd Annual Conference, American Institute for Conservation, Minneapolis, MN, United States.
     
  • Beckett, F., Shugar, A., Ploeger, R., & Chen, J. (2024, April 4). Rembrandt beneath the surface: A closer look at Portrait of a Young Man in an Armchair [Invited lecture]. Memorial Art Gallery, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United States. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQHhI2L2s_g
     
  • Do, V., Smith, T., Hamilton, E., Beckett, F., & Shugar, A. (2024, May 24). Sắc Phong – A preliminary investigation of Vietnamese imperial proclamations [Conference presentation]. 52nd Annual Conference of the American Institute for Conservation, Salt Lake City, UT, United States.
     
  • Gratini, C., Beckett, F., Chen, J., Shugar, A., & Ploeger, R. (2023, May 20). Straight out-of-the-tube: Analysis and conservation of George Mathieu’s Pour une aliénation définitive du logos [Conference presentation]. 51st Annual Conference of the American Institute for Conservation, Jacksonville, FL, United States.
     
  • Nurmi, K., & Beckett, F. (2022, May 13–17). When doing nothing is best for the future: Analysis and conservation of Louise Nevelson’s Dawn’s Image, Night [Conference presentation]. 50th Annual Conference of the American Institute for Conservation, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
     
  • Childers, R., Beckett, F., & Ravines, P. (2021, June 24). Lady in Blue: Mitigation of blanching through varnish application on a 16th century portrait [Conference presentation]. 49th Annual Conference of the American Institute for Conservation.
     
  • Beckett, F., Shugar, A., Chen, J. J., & Ploeger, R. (2020, May 19-23). A Closer Look at School of Rembrandt’s Portrait of a Young Man in an Armchair at the Memorial Art Gallery. 48th Annual Conference of the American Institute for Conservation (Research and Technical Studies). https://www.culturalheritage.org/membership/groups-and-networks/research...
     
  • Beckett, F., & Norris, R. (2017, April 6–8). Technical analysis of the Portrait of Andrea de’Franceschi by Titian’s workshop [Conference presentation]. 44th Annual Conference of the Midwest Art History Society, Cleveland Museum of Art & Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States.
     
  • Beckett, F. (2015, May 13–16). Seeing the light: Conservation and exhibition of a 1980s Day-Glo painted leather jacket [Conference presentation]. 43rd Annual Conference of the American Institute for Conservation, Miami, FL, United States.
     
  • Beckett, F. (2014, May 30). A hangover part III: Conserving Thomas Couture’s Supper After the Masked Ball. [Conference presentation]. 42nd Annual Conference of the American Institute for Conservation, San Francisco, CA, United States.

Additional National Gallery of Canada Conservation Lecture:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEFJLitwzow&t=1s
Magazine Feature : https://www.gallery.ca/magazine/in-the-spotlight/conservation-of-supper-...

Poster Presentations

  • Green, C., Beckett, F., & Rayermann, G. (2026, July 12–17). Ashes to pigments in The Death of Saint Joseph: Technical study of a seventeenth-century Peruvian painting [Poster presentation]. Scientific Methods in Cultural Heritage Research Gordon Research Conference, Les Diablerets, Vaud, Switzerland.
     
  • Heyman, R., Beckett, F., Goodman, B., Ploeger, R., Rayermann, G., & Brundrett, L. (2026, June 8–11). Impasto syndrome: Degradation studies and scientific analysis of acrylic-based rheological modifiers [Poster presentation]. Chemistry for Cultural Heritage 2026 Conference, Bled, Slovenia.
     
  • Ren, J., & Beckett, F. (2024, May 24). Treatment of a 17th century Dutch military portrait: Reflecting on an unexpected lining process [Poster presentation]. 52nd Annual Conference of the American Institute for Conservation, Salt Lake City, UT, United States.
     
  • Beckett, F., Garrity, G., & Shugar, A. (2023, November 2). Technical analysis and treatment of Ridgway Knight’s 19th century painting Springtime [Poster presentation]. Buffalo State University Faculty and Staff Research Forum, Buffalo, NY, United States. https://artconservation.buffalostate.edu/sites/artconservation.buffalostate.edu/files/uploads/BECKETT_Ridgway_Knight_Poster-RCC_Forum_Nov_2023_V4.pdf
     
  • Beckett, F., & Shugar, A. (2022, December 1). Following the light: Use of multimodal imaging and fiber optic spectroscopy to evaluate aging in daylight fluorescent artists’ pigments [Poster presentation]. Buffalo State Faculty and Staff Research Forum, Buffalo, NY, United States. https://artconservation.buffalostate.edu/sites/artconservation.buffalostate.edu/files/uploads/BECKETT_FALL_FORUM_Poster-Fluorescent%20pigments_2022.pdf
     
  • Zinsli, K., Beckett, F., & Holden, A. (2022, May 13–17). Piecing it together: Analysis and treatment of a painted silk flag [Poster presentation]. 50th Annual Conference of the American Institute for Conservation, Los Angeles, CA, United States. https://artconservation.buffalostate.edu/posters-presentations
     
  • Munch, J., Beckett, F., & Shugar, A. (2019, May 13–17). Structural conservation of a late 16th early 17th century panel attributed to Paul Brill [Poster presentation]. 47th Annual Conference of the American Institute for Conservation, Uncasville, CT, United States. https://artconservation.buffalostate.edu/student-resources
     
  • Robson, E., Beckett, F., Shugar, A., & Chen, J. J. (2019, May 13–17). In-depth technical analysis and treatment of a floral still life painting [Poster presentation]. 47th Annual Conference of the American Institute for Conservation, Uncasville, CT, United States. https://artconservation.buffalostate.edu/student-resources

Additional Collaborative and Community Projects