

Nina Olsson Art Conservation, LLC


Nina Olsson is a researcher and conservator of paintings in private practice established in Portland, Oregon in 2001. Nina has worked on the development and application of specialized heat transfer methods for art conservation since 2003. From 2011-2014, Olsson held a research position at the University of Florence, Italy Department of Industrial Engineering, and co-led the IMAT Project, a research initiative funded by the European Commission to develop an innovative new heat transfer device for the conservation treatment of cultural heritage objects that integrates cutting edge nanotechnology with the special demands of art conservation. Since 2015, Nina is President and co-founder of Heritage Conservation Group, LLC, (HCG) a consortium of Portland-based conservators of diverse specialties.
Nina earned her B.S. in Art History and Studio Art from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1987. From 1985-2000, Olsson was active in Florence, Italy where she completed the 3-year painting conservation program at the Istituto per l’Arte e il Restauro-Palazzo Spinelli (1990), taught courses in the structural treatment of paintings on canvas and inpainting at Palazzo Spinelli (1990-1998), and courses in the history of art restoration for the University of Michigan and Wisconsin Joint International Studies Program at the Villa Corsi Salivati, and was in private practice (1990-2000). Works treated by Olsson in Italy are conserved at Palazzo Pitti, the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, the Galleria degli Uffizi, the Museo di Montalcino, and many more historic sites. Nina has extensive experience with collections in the Pacific Northwest, working with the region's principal museums and private collectors. With experience on both sides of the Atlantic, Olsson is a regular contributor and speaker in the field in Europe and the US, with published research topics that range from the history of Italian restoration, conservation treatments of Italian 15th-century works to American 21st-century works, to the development of new technologies and conservation treatment methods. She is currently a senior researcher on the European Horizon MOXY Project, which has advanced the use of monoatomic oxygen for cleaning sensitive surfaces in cultural heritage. Other research interests are green conservation approaches such as mild heat applications for painting conservation, and the recovery and conservation of American New Deal masterworks in Oregon.
