About me
Gianfranco is Principal of Gianfranco Pocobene Studio, a private practice specializing in the conservation of paintings and murals. He received his Master of Arts in Conservation (M.A.C.) from Queen’s University, Class of 1984. His forty years of experience include fifteen years at the Straus Center for Conservation, Harvard Art Museums and twenty years at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
At the Straus Center, he worked on paintings in the University collection and oversaw the restoration of mural cycles at the Boston Public Library by Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, Edwin Austin Abbey and John Singer Sargent. He has lectured extensively in public and professional settings on conservation treatment issues and among his publications, he co-edited and co-authored a comprehensive publication on the history and conservation of the Sargent murals titled, John Singer Sargent’s Triumph of Religion Murals at the Boston Public Library: Creation and Restoration. At the Gardner Museum he carried out technical studies and treatments on the painting collection including works by Fra Angelico, Simone Martini, Botticelli, Velázquez, Crivelli, Titian, Degas, Sargent and Manet.
In his private practice he has undertaken the restoration of easel paintings and significant murals, most notably the John La Farge murals in the central tower of Trinity Church, Boston and Puvis de Chavannes Philosophy mural at the Boston Public Library. Throughout his career he has mentored numerous graduate and pre-program interns in both institutional and private practice settings.
