About me
Catherine E. Stephens is the 2024-25 Pine Tree Foundation Fellow in Book Conservation at The Morgan Library & Museum’s Thaw Conservation Center. Prior to joining The Morgan, Cat was the first book conservator to be awarded the Research Scholarship in Photograph Conservation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. At The Met, between 2021 and 2024, she studied the binding structures and unique condition issues associated with nineteenth and early twentieth century photograph albums. In collaboration with photograph conservators, paper conservators, and conservation scientists at The Met, Cat investigated the mechanical performances of wheat starch paste, photo-grade gelatin, and six cellulose ethers. Cat is a 2021 graduate of the Library and Archive Conservation program at the NYU Institute of Fine Arts, and she earned a BFA in Graphic Design at the Rhode Island School of Design in 2011. She has held conservation positions and internships at the New York Public Library, the New York Botanical Garden’s LuEsther T. Mertz Library, the New-York Historical Society, the New York City Municipal Archives, and the MIT Libraries’ Wunsch Conservation Laboratory.
