Caitlin R. O’Grady
Biography
I am a trained conservator and conservation scientist specializing in the analysis and preservation of archaeological materials and hold a joint appointment in Anthropology and the Interdepartmental Program in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage. I am the Director of Conservation for the Koç University Kaymakçı Archaeological Project in western Türkiye, where I am responsible for managing the conservation of artefacts and immovable heritage recovered on site. My research focuses on the disciplinary histories of conservation/conservation science and their intersection with that of archaeology, as well as the preservation and scientific analysis of ceramics, historic conservation materials, lime-plaster wall paintings, and mudbrick. I am interested in the formation and role of expertise in research and its impact on how the archaeological past is preserved and interpreted.
Research Interests
Disciplinary histories of conservation/conservation science and their intersection with archaeology; preservation and scientific analysis of pottery/ceramics, historic conservation materials, lime-plaster wall paintings, and mudbrick; conservation pedagogy; Türkiye, Guatemala, southwestern USA
Publications
2023 O’Grady, Caitlin R. “Assembling a Sustainable Past: The Role of Conservation, Expertise, and Institutions in Transforming Archaeological Heritage.” In ICOM-CC 20th Triennial Conference Preprints, ed. J. Bridgland. Paris: International Council of Museums, 10 pages
2023 O’Grady, Caitlin R. “Legitimizing the Past: Conservation, Expertise, and the Power of Transformation,” Papers presented during the General and Concurrent Sessions, AIC’s 50th Annual Meeting, 1(35), 5 pages.
2022 O’Grady, Caitlin R. “Ceramic Lockdown Stories: Remote Teaching in a Pandemic.” In Recent Advances in Glass and Ceramics Conservation 2022, eds. Rebecca Gridley and Victoria Schussler. Paris: International Council of Museum – Committee for Conservation (ICOM-CC), pp. 95-105.
2022 O’Grady, Caitlin R. “Conservation and the Archaeological Gaze: Field Manuals and Handbooks – Their Role in Transforming Preservation Knowledge in the 19th and 20th Centuries.” In 14th International ANAMED Annual Symposium: Heritage, World Heritage, and the Future: Perspectives on Scale, Conservation, and Dialogue, eds. B.N. Öz and C. Luke. Istanbul: Koç University Press, pp. 189-216.
2022 O’Grady, Caitlin R. “Mending, Sticking and Repairing: Negotiating Conservation Expertise in Archaeology in the 19th and 20th Centuries.” In Histories of Conservation and Art History in Modern Europe, eds. Sven Dupré and Jenny Boulboullé. London: Routledge, pp. 79-94.
2021 O’Grady, Caitlin R. “Interventions: Contesting Time, Expertise and Perspective in Conservation Decision-Making.” In ICOM-CC 19th Triennial Conference Preprints, ed. J. Bridgland. Paris: International Council of Museums, 10 pages.
2020 Mokrišová, Jana, Christopher H. Roosevelt, Christina Luke, and Caitlin R. O’Grady. “Made from Mud. Functional Categorization and Analyses of Bronze Age Earthen Materials from Western Turkey,” Studia Hercynia 24(1), pp. 30-65.
2019 O’Grady, Caitlin R. “Waxing Enthusiastic: Transmission and Migration of Consolidation Materials and Techniques in the Early 20th Century.” In Migrants: Art, Artists, Materials, and Ideas Crossing Borders, eds. Lucy Wrapson, Victoria Sutcliffe, Sally Woodcock and Spike Bucklow. London: Archetype Publications, pp. 59-76.
2018 O’Grady, Caitlin R., Christina Luke, Christopher H. Roosevelt, and Jana Mokrišová. “Interdisciplinary Approaches to Understanding and Preserving Mudbrick Architecture in Regional and Diachronic Contexts,” Cogent Arts and Humanities 5(1), 25 pages. DOI:10.1080/23311983.2018.153326 / https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2018.1553326
2018 Roosevelt, Christopher H., Christina Luke, Sinan Ünlüsoy, Canan Çakilar, John M. Marston, Caitlin R. O’Grady, Peter Pavúk, Madga Pieniążek, Jana Mokrišová, Catherine Scott, Nami Shin, and Francesca Slim. “Exploring Space, Economy, and Interregional Interaction at a Second-Millennium B.C.E. Citadel in Central Western Anatolia: 2014–2017 Research at Kaymakçı,” American Journal of Archaeology 122(4), pp. 645-688. DOI: 10.3764/aja.122.4.0645 / https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3764/aja.122.4.0645
2017 O’Grady, Caitlin R. “Gentlewomen in the Field and Museum: Unacknowledged Pioneers in the Development of Conservation as both Profession and University Discipline – the London case. In Engaging Conservation: Collaboration across Disciplines, eds. Nina Owczarek, Molly Gleason, and Lynn A. Grant. London: Archetype Publications Ltd. in association with the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, pp. 3-18.
Degrees
PhD, Materials Science and Engineering, University of Arizona (2009)
MS, Materials Science and Engineering, University of Arizona (2007)
MA, Art History, New York University (2004)
Advance Certificate in Conservation, New York University (2004)
