Elizabeth Walton

EDUCATION:

·         Master of Arts: Visual Arts Administration: Costume Studies, New York University School of Education. New York, NY, May 2001
Thesis: Creation of www.clotheslinejournal.com an online academic site for the sharing of papers about costume and textiles

·          Bachelor of Arts: History, The George Washington University. Washington, DC., December 1997
Thesis: The Social Impact of Women’s Magazines from 1910 to 1915

·         Hertzen Institute, Russian language study, St. Petersburg, Russia: August-December, 1996
·         Protecting Cultural Collections From Pests and Mold Workshop, October 2004  

Professional EXPERIENCE:

· Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Collections Management
   Collections Management Technician                              February 2004 – Present

   Reorganized and worked with long term planning of improvements for collections storage facilities and object      housings, including collections of paintings, sculpture, prints, and decorative arts. Created budget proposals; purchased supplies and equipment; re-housed variety of objects for better preservation; Planned the transformations of spaces into storage and supervised installation of equipment. Organized movement of artworks internally and to offsite storage spaces. Supervised intern projects involving inventories and object care. Reorganized and inventoried storage spaces. Couriered extremely high value artwork.

· Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Collections Move Team

   Museum Technician (federal temporary position)             December 2002-December 2003

Prepared large variety of objects for move from Bronx Research Branch to Suitland, MD facility. Assisted with: maintaining storage and supply areas; digital imaging and editing; exhibition de-installation; object movement; truck loading; packing; and cleaning archeological objects. Created permanent storage mounts. Monitored environmental conditions using hydrothermographs and Hanwell systems. Prepared textiles for photography and packed them for safe transport.

· Atlanta History Center, Costume Department

   Curatorial Assistant (temporary stipend position)            April-June 2002

  Assisted Curator in maintenance and organization of costume collection; chose, mounted, researched and wrote text panels and completed digital imaging for rotating quilt display. Mounted and rotated costume and textile pieces into exhibition. Photographed and wrote condition reports of objects for incoming traveling exhibit. Updated images and object information in ARGUS database.

· DeKalb Historical Society
Volunteer Costume Consultant                                       September 2001-July 2002

   Created new costume displays. Removed costume and uniform pieces from exhibition and re-installed important pieces with improved texts and mounts.. Inventoried and reorganized costume and textile collection with new boxes and creation of hanging storage area with a very limited budget. Created workshop for members on textile care and storage. 

· Fairfield Historical Society
Collections Assistant (IMLS Grant Funded position)       June-August 2001
Re-housed collection of costume accessories, wrote catalogue descriptions using Chenhall nomenclature, and created, edited and imported digital images of objects for Filemaker Pro database to improve the organization, catalogue information and permanent storage. Created storage mounts and systems for parasols, reticules and shoes. Assisted conservator and curator in a workshop for volunteers regarding safe handling and storage of costume pieces.

· Museum of The Fashion Institute of Technology, Registrar's Office
Intern                                                                                    October 2000-January 2001

   Entered and created records in ARGUS for new acquisitions and incoming and outgoing loans. Packed and tracked items for large exhibition loan return. Catalogued objects and documented group of un-accessioned ethnographic items in collection.

· Phoenix Art Museum, Fashion Design Collection 
Collections Assistant                                                        June-July 2000
Prepared costume pieces from 1750-present for digital imaging (including proper handling and dressing of costumes). Photographed and edited digital images for use on storage boxes and permanent storage of images for future use. Assisted with organizing and maintaining collection and storage space and in the procurement of new technologies.

· CNN.com/ COLD WAR, Celebrate the Century, and Millennium
Associate Editor                                                                 August 1998 – January 2000
Member of team creating extensive award winning historical web sites to accompany CNN television documentaries. Gathered, organized and edited images from video, slides, microfilm, and digital sources. Assisted with 20 live Internet chats with historical figures and edited transcripts. Wrote and produced historical web features including 10-part feature on 20^th Century fashion, biographies and music quiz. Extensive research for historical features and timelines for COLD WAR, Century and the Millenium sites.

· Smithsonian Institution, Museum of American History, Costume Division
Research Assistant                                                            July 1997-June 1998
Researched primary sources and archives for collection of early 20th century lingerie dresses, copied and organized clothing patterns, traced the history of the use of American and British flags on apparel.   

· The United States National Archives
Archives Technician, GS-4                                               January 1995-January 1996  

   Sorted, consolidated, and re-housed documents, repaired and prepared for storage many historical documents including the Versailles Treaty. Created permanent labels for thousands of boxes and books of various age from the War of 1812- World War II.   

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS:

· Costume Society of America:
   Web Events Calendar Editor 2001-2004

   Board member: Southeast region VI - 2002

 

ACADEMIC PRESENTATIONS:

 · Juried Paper Presenter, 2003 Symposium in Charleston, SC June 15, 2003

"The Empress's New Clothes: Multi-nationalism in the Court of Empress Elizabeth of Russia, 1709-1762"

RESEARCH Topics:          

·         The Education of Free Women of Color in the Antebellum Deep South

·         Embroidery and Its Effect on the Subjugation of Women in Early Modern Europe

·         Opulence and Simplicity: Women’s Dress 1872-1882

·         Examination of a 15^th century Italian voided velvet in the collection of the Ratti Center

·         Conservation Issues relating to Prada’s 2000 collection. 

·         Yves Saint Laurent, Elsa Schiaparelli and Surrealism

·         Eyeglasses: Prosthetic or Fetish?

·         Estonian Traditions – A look at Estonian traditional clothing, past and present

·         Lingerie dresses of the early 20^th century

·         The use of flag imagery on clothing.

·         19^th Century kitchen innovations

TECHNICAL SKILLS:

·         Skill in the creation and maintenance of museum databases including Multi-Mimsy, ARGUS, File Maker Pro and Past Perfect

·         Experience in the use of hydrothermagraphs and Hanwell environmental monitoring systems and software as well as the creation and maintenance  of integrated pest management policies in a museum setting

·         Digital Imaging expertise in conjunction with collections management and web site creation using Olympus, Sony, and Nikon digital cameras and multiple software programs, especially PhotoShop.

·         Considerable word processing and graphics experience with both Intel and Macintosh Computers (programs include MS Word, PhotoShop, BB Edit, FrontPage, and Photo Impact, Power Point) 

·         Working knowledge of copyright and trademark law regarding images and fair use.

·         Professional internet, writing, editing and graphics experience
·         Ability to speak, read, and write in Russian at Intermediate level.

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