About Us

We are a small independent company, passionate about art and its care. We take pride in providing a simple and highly professional service free of jargon and any other obfuscations.  We care about getting it right for you.

About Melissa Lewis

Modern British Conservation was founded by Melissa in 2011.  She believes a good company is about listening to customers and providing them with the service they want. After a fruitful career as decorative artist / trompe-l’oeil painter, she decided to retrain as a paper conservator. She studied a PgDIP and MA at Camberwell gaining a distinction in both courses.

She has worked as a decorative painter all over the world for many different corporate and private clients. This has included film sets, hotels, private yachts and stately homes. The knowledge she has gleaned in artists’ materials, painting techniques and implements gives the company an enormous advantage in understanding and approaching work as more than just a job for a client. It makes the difference between repairing and providing a full, enduring solution.

In conservation, she has worked for many private conservators and gaining experience in the private sector. She has also worked in major public institutions, including the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Natural History Museum. She has led workshops at The British Museum, the V&A, The Museum of London, University College London (UCL) and The Independent Paper Conservation Group. She also teaches at the University of the Arts (UAL), Camberwell and has worked with Christie’s Education.

Melissa is an accredited member of ICON, the professional body in the UK for the conservation of cultural heritage.