Research

Glenn Wharton is Professor of Art History and Professor of the Conservation of Material Culture, as well as Chair of the UCLA/Getty Interdepartmental Program in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage. Professor Wharton most recently taught at New York University as Clinical Professor in Museum Studies; in addition to his academic positions, Wharton is an experienced art conservator with an extensive background in archaeological, sculpture, and time-based media conservation, who has worked and consulted at such museums as the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Wharton received his Ph.D. in Conservation and Archaeology from the Institute of Archaeology, University College London in 2005. He has received, amongst others, a Digital Pedagogy Grant from New York University (2018), a Getty Conservation Institute Guest Scholar Fellowship (2017), a College Art Association (CAA) / Heritage Preservation Award for Distinction in Scholarship and Conservation (2015), and the Historic Hawai’i Foundation Preservation Media Award for The Painted King: Art, Activism, & Authenticity in Hawai’i (2012). His research areas of interest include archaeological conservation, illicit trade, cultural heritage management, contemporary art conservation with specialization in time-based media, and addressing social justice, inclusion, and climate change in conservation.

Selected Publications

• Wharton, Glenn.  2012. The Painted King: Art, Activism, & Authenticity in Hawai’i. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press.
• Scholte, Tatja and Glenn Wharton (eds.) 2011. Inside Installations: Theory and Practice in the Care of Complex Artworks. Amsterdam: University of Amsterdam Press.
• Naudé, Virginia and Glenn Wharton. 1992. Guide to the Maintenance of Outdoor Sculpture. American Institute for Conservation, Washington D.C.
• Van Saaze, Vivian, Glenn Wharton, & Leah Reisman. July 2018. “Adaptive Institutional Change: Managing Digital Works at the Museum of Modern Art.” Museums & Society. 16:2. 220-239.
• Wharton, Glenn & Deena Engel. 2018. “Museum/University Collaboration in Media Conservation Research.” The Electronic Media Review. Washington D.C.: American Institute for Conservation. 3. 2013-2014.
• Wharton, Glenn. 2018. “Bespoke Ethics and Moral Casuistry in the Conservation of Contemporary Art.” Journal of the Institute of Conservation. Jouirnal of the Institute of Conservation. 41:1. 58-70.
• Engel, Deena & Glenn Wharton. Fall 2017. “Managing Contemporary Art Documentation in Museums and Special Collections.” Art Documentation Journal. 36:2. 293-311.
• Pacific Studies. December 2016. Book Review Forum featuring Wharton, Glenn. The Painted King: Art, Activism, and Authenticity in Hawai’i. Reviews by Stacy L. Kamehiro, University of California, Santa Cruz; Aaron Glass, Bard Graduate Center; Karen Stevenson, University of Canterbury; Author Response by Glenn Wharton. 39:3. 375-417
• Wharton, Glenn & Harvey Molotch. 2016. “The Challenge of Installation Art.” Reprinted for Symposium: “Fixing What Isn’t Broken: What is Reconstruction in Contemporary Art?” Riga: Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art.
• Wharton, Glenn.  2016. “Artist Intentions and the Conservation of Contemporary Art.” Objects Specialty Group Postprints, Volume Twenty-Two. Washington D.C.: American Institute for Conservation.
• Wharton, Glenn, Deena Engel, & Marvin J. Taylor. 2016. “The Artist Archives Project – David Wojnarowicz.” Studies in Conservation. London: International Institute for Conservation. Vol. 61. S2-241-247.
• Wharton, Glenn. 2016. “Reconfiguring Contemporary Art in the Museum.” In Erma Hermens (ed.) Authenticity in Transition: Changing Practices in Art Making and Conservation. London: Archetype Publications. 27-36.
• Wharton, Glenn. 2016. “Conserving Computer-Based Art at The Museum of Modern Art.” Arte Contemporáneo en (sala de) Guardia. Buenos Aires: Fundación Telefónica.
• Wharton, Glenn. 2015. “Public Access in the Age of Documented Art.” Revista de História da Arte – Série W. Lisbon: Instituto de História da Arte. 180-191.
• Wharton, Glenn & Deena Engel. 2015. Source Code Analysis as Technical Art History. Journal of the American Institute for Conservation. 54:2. 91-101.
• Molotch, Harvey & Glenn Wharton. 2014. “An Art of Social Studies.” In Kataoka Mami (ed.) Lee Mingwei and His Relations: The Art of Participation. Tokyo: Mori Art Museum. 121-128.
• Wharton, Glenn. September 2014. “Conserving L’Idea del Cavaliereby Marino Marini at the San Diego Museum of Art.” Boletim Seminário Interno de Conservação de Escultura Moderna. El Museo de Arte Contemporáneo en la Universidad de São Paulo.
• Engel, Deena & Glenn Wharton. 2014. “Reading Between the Lines: Source Code Documentation as a Conservation Strategy for Software-Based Art.” Studies in Conservation. London: International Institute for the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works. 59:6. 404-415.
• Wharton, Glenn. 2013. “Disrupted Circuits: Managing a Nam June Paik Video Sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art.” In Nam June Paik Art Center Interviews. Seoul: Nam Jun Paik Art Center. 150-169.
• Nam June Paik Center Interviews: Hanna Hölling, Bernhard Serexhe, & Glenn Wharton. Soul: Nam June Paik Art Center. 2013.
• Mack, Barbara & Glenn Wharton. 2011. “A Case for Digital Conservation Repositories.” The Electronic Media Review. American Institute for Conservation.  Vol. 1.  37-58.
• Wharton, Glenn, Sharon Blank, & Claire Dean. 2011. “Sweetness and Blight:  The Conservation of Chocolate Works of Art.” in C. Caple (ed.) Preventive Conservation in Museums. 1995. Reprint. From Marble to Chocolate: the Conservation of Modern Sculpture. London: Tate Gallery. London and New York: Routledge. 456-468.
• Wharton, Glenn. 2010. “Research and Training in a Field Conservation Laboratory: Kaman-Kalehöyük.” In E. Williams & C. Peachey (eds.) The Conservation of Archaeological Materials: Current Trends and Future Directions. Oxford: Archaeopress. 33-39.
• Wharton, Glenn. 2010. “Collaboration and Community Involvement in Archaeological Conservation.” In E. Williams & C. Peachey (eds.) The Conservation of Archaeological Materials: Current Trends and Future Directions. Oxford: Archaeopress. 201-204.
• Wharton, Glenn & Harvey Molotch. 2010. “The Challenge of Installation Art.” In A. Bracker & A. Richmond (eds.) Conservation: Principles, Dilemmas, and Uncomfortable Truths. London: Elsevier. 210-222
• Wharton, Glenn. 2008. “Dynamics of Participatory Conservation: The Kamehameha Sculpture Project.” Journal of the American Institute for Conservation. Vol. 47. 159-173.
• Wharton, Glenn. 2006. “The Challenges of Conserving Contemporary Art.” In B. Altshuler (ed.) Collecting the New: Museums and Contemporary Art. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 164-178.
• Wharton, Glenn. 2005. “Indigenous Claims and Heritage Conservation: An Opportunity for Critical Dialog.” Journal of Public Archaeology.  Vol. 4. 199-204.
• Wharton, Glenn. Spring 2005. “Planning Physical and Conceptual Longevity in Public Art Commissions.” Public Art Review. Vol. 32. 36-37.
• Wharton, Glenn. 2001. “The Role of Conservation in the Design of Conceptual Monuments.” In Monuments & the Millennium Proceedings of a joint conference organized by the Stone and Metal Sections of UKIC and English Heritage.  20-22 May 1998. London: English Heritage.
• Wharton, Glenn, Susan Lansing Maish, & William S. Ginell. 1990. “A Comparative Study of Silver Cleaning Abrasives.”  Journal of the American Institute for Conservation. 29:1. 13-32.
• Wharton, Glenn & Tina Oldknow. 1987. “The Conservation of an Eighteenth Century Medallion Beaker by Johann Joseph Mildner.”  The Conservator. London: United Kingdom Institute for Conservation. Vol. 11. 42-45.
• Wharton, Glenn. 1984. “Technical Examination of Renaissance Medals: The Use of Laue Back Reflection X-Ray Diffraction to Identify Electroformed Reproductions.” Journal of the American Institute for Conservation.  Vol. 23. 88-100.