Biography

Tom Learner is head of the GCI’s Science department; he oversees all the Institute’s scientific research, developing and implementing projects that advance conservation practice in the visual arts. He was a GCI senior scientist from 2007 to 2013, overseeing the Modern and Contemporary Art Research initiative, during which time he developed an international research agenda related to the conservation of modern paints, plastics, and contemporary outdoor sculpture. Prior to his arrival at the GCI, he served as a senior conservation scientist at Tate, London, where he developed Tate’s analytical and research strategies for modern materials and led the Modern Paints project in collaboration with the GCI and National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. He was a GCI Conservation Guest Scholar in residence in 2001. Learner is both a chemist and a conservator, with a PhD in chemistry from Birkbeck College, University of London, and a diploma in the conservation of easel paintings from the Courtauld Institute of Art.