Andrew Fearon

Biography

Andrew Fearon is a lecturer in conservation at the University of Pennsylvania’s Stewart Weitzman School of Design and a Principal at Heritage Conservation Collective, a consulting and design-build firm based in Philadelphia. Since 1995, he has worked in the field of conservation encompassing architecture, decorative arts, and archaeological materials. Among his completed conservation projects are Alexander Hamilton’s First Bank of the United States Wood Tympanum, Tiffany’s Dream Garden mosaic, the exterior finishes of Jefferson’s Monticello and the exterior wood treatment of Louis Kahn’s Korman House. He holds a Master of Science degree from the University of Pennsylvania and has completed ICCROM’s Wood Course in Oslo, Norway. He is an expert member and former Vice President for ICOMOS' Scientific Committee for Wood and a Fellow of the American Institute for Conservation.

Work/Research

Course Instructor, Getty Conservation Institute, International Course on the Conservation of Modern Heritage, "The Conservation of Modern Wood Heritage," 2023

Course Instructor, Masonry Academy, Center for Preservation Trades, Eastern State Penitentiary, 2022 and 2023

Society of Architectural Historians, Philadelphia Chapter, "Reintegrating a Twentieth Century Interior - The Conservation of the Eastern State Penitentiary Synagogue," 2010

World Monuments Fund, Dutch Reform Church, Newburgh, NY, 'Historic Paint Materials and Investigation Workshop' 2010

World Monuments Fund, Williamsburg High School for Architecture and Design, Brooklyn, NY 'The Role of the Architectural Conservator' 2009

Philadelphia Museum of Art, Daniel Pabst Study Day, 'Architectural Woodwork of the Lea Library and Bloomfield Moore House' 2008

University of Pennsylvania, HSPV Conservation Seminar: Wood, 'The Conservation of Interior Architectural Woodwork : Case studies 1860-1960' 2008

Philadelphia Museum of Art, Historic Interiors Symposium, 'Parry House Reconstruction' 2006

Press

3/27/09 - Synagogue Restored in Historic Philadelphia Prison, The New York Times

Publications

“A Prison’s Colorful Past: Revealing the Paint History of a Cell at Eastern State Penitentiary” Colors and Textures of the World, London, Archetype Publications 2022

“Experiment in the Desert, The Investigation and Assessment of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Dining Room at Taliesin West”, ICOMOS Wood Committee Symposium, Bilbao, Spain, 2019

“The Buildings of Louis Kahn: Conserving Exterior Wood” Getty Conservation Institute (Expert Meeting Proceedings) 2019

“With the Help of Nature: Kahn, The Wood House and the Culture of Stewardship”, Docomomo Journal 58, 2018

“A Lot Harder Than It Looks: Conservation of a Worst Case Scenario”, ACUA Underwater Archaeology Proceedings, 2017

“Going Grey: Mitigating the Weathering of Wood in the Architecture of Louis Kahn”, AIC/CAC Joint Conference WAG Post Prints, Montreal, 2016

American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, Annual Meeting, 'Usonian Frank Lloyd Wright: An Evaluation of Coating Products and Surface Treatments for the Exterior Wood of the Pope-Leighey House.' 2012 (anticipated post-script 2013)

'Copal resin and the practice of oil varnishing in the second half of 19th-century America.' Architectural Finishes in the Built Environment, London: Archetype Publications, 2009