James Hamm

James Hamm has taught paintings conservation at the department for fourteen years. He earned his M.A. degree and Certificate of Advanced Studies in Art Conservation from this program in 1978 when it was part of the Cooperstown Graduate Programs, SUNY College at Oneonta. For the following eight years, Professor Hamm operated a successful private practice near Albany, New York, with his wife Patricia Hamm, also a program graduate. In 1986, he returned to Cooperstown to join the faculty part-time but soon began teaching full-time. In 1994, he was awarded U.S. patent #5,360,664 for a rigid painting and drawing support for artists. This was developed as part of his ongoing interest in applying the knowledge gained from the study of art materials, and the processes of their degradation, to the improvement of materials and techniques available to artists working today. Recently, with the assistance of two student interns, he supervised the treatment of two Josef Albers murals (325 square feet each) located on the campus of the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Currently, Professor Hamm is involved in developing software, with the assistance of Buffalo State College's computer laboratories, that will be an aid in the cleaning of oil paintings. He has served as a reviewer for Journal of the American Institute for Conservation, the Getty Grant Program, and the Institute for Museum Services. He is a member of the American Institute for Conservation's Certification Task Force charged with examining the feasibility of developing a professional certification program for the profession.

Professor Hamm's recent presentations include "Estimating and Bidding" at the Washington Conservation Guild seminar on private practice held at the Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education; "An Overview of the History and Conservation of the Zuber Scenic Wallpaper at the Martin Van Buren National Historic Site"; and a lecture/demonstration "Developing Software as an Aid to Cleaning Oil Paintings" at the Tech Fair, Buffalo State College. Among his recent publications are the following: "Alexis J. Fournier: Murals at the Roycroft Inn"; "An Improved Stressed-Skin Support for Artworks on Canvas or Paper"; "The Discoloration of Acrylic Dispersion Media"; and several "Technical Answers" columns for The Artist's Magazine.