Preservation Arts

What Preservation Arts does

Preservation Arts is a fine art conservation studio headquartered at 743 47th Street in Oakland, California, founded in 2013 by Rowan Geiger (originally as SF Art Conservation, rebranded in November 2018) and operating as a private, founder-owned professional services practice. The firm provides museum-quality conservation across paintings and frames, objects, works on paper, outdoor sculpture, murals, and technical analysis, supported by an integrated suite of ancillary services including collections management, climate-controlled storage and transportation, emergency response, and a differentiated nitrogen-based anoxia pest management facility with custom-built enclosures. All treatments are performed under American Institute for Conservation (AIC) guidelines by staff that includes five Professional Associates of the AIC, with credentials drawn from the Royal College of Art, Winterthur/University of Delaware, and prior tenures at SFMOMA, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the Asian Art Museum, Walt Disney Family Museum, Freer/Sackler, and the Oakland Museum of California.

The company's 4,700 sq ft Temescal facility houses museum-grade climate control, security, a UV photography room, a spray booth, and dedicated anoxia chambers, with field operations supported by a Sprinter van for onsite and transport work. Its go-to-market is sales-led and project-based: clients initiate contact by phone, email, or web form, after which conservators examine and test each artwork in the Oakland studio to develop a custom treatment plan and estimate. Pricing is fully bespoke — no published rates or tiers — and revenue is generated primarily from four customer segments: museums and public institutions (SFMOMA, Fine Arts Museums of SF, Stanford, Crocker, YBCA, Asian Art Museum, California Academy of Sciences, di Rosa, San Jose Museum of Art), commercial art galleries (Gagosian, David Zwirner, Hauser & Wirth, Pace, Jessica Silverman), private collectors, and adjacent institutional clients in healthcare, education, and historic preservation (UCSF, Montage Health, Stanford, Filoli, Mission San José). The firm has grown organically with no external funding, no M&A activity, and no public reporting of financials.

Name

Preservation Arts

Legal name

Preservation Arts

Website

https://preservation-arts.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Preservation Arts is an Oakland-based, founder-owned fine art conservation studio providing museum-quality treatments for paintings, objects, paper, outdoor sculpture, and murals, plus pest management, emergency response, and storage services, serving West Coast museums, galleries, healthcare, and historic sites.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Conservation Treatment Services: Project-based professional services for art conservation including paintings, frames, objects, works on paper, outdoor sculpture, and murals. Each treatment is individualized and priced based on assessment.
2. Art Services: Additional services including collections management, storage and transportation, emergency response, and pest management. These services complement conservation treatments.
3. Assessment and Consultation: Initial assessment services in the Oakland studio where conservators examine artwork and provide detailed treatment plans and estimates.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Preservation Arts is a private fine art conservation studio providing museum-quality conservation treatments for paintings, frames, three-dimensional objects, works on paper, outdoor sculpture, and murals. The studio complements its conservation practice with related art services including technical analysis, collections management, climate-controlled storage and transportation, emergency/disaster response, and nitrogen-based anoxia pest management. All treatments are performed in accordance with American Institute for Conservation (AIC) guidelines.

Product overview

Preservation Arts is a fine art conservation studio providing museum-quality conservation services to private clients, galleries, and institutions on the West Coast. The company operates as a single integrated service practice rather than a platform with discrete modules. Its core offerings are organized by conservation specialty: Paintings & Frames Conservation, Objects Conservation (including furniture), Works on Paper Conservation (including books and scrolls), Outdoor Sculpture Conservation, and Murals Conservation. These are supported by technical and administrative services including Technical Analysis (using UV and other imaging techniques), Collections Management, Storage & Transportation, Emergency Response (for disaster-damaged artworks), and Pest Management using nitrogen-based anoxia treatment. All treatments are performed according to American Institute for Conservation (AIC) guidelines by Professional Associates of the AIC.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Paintings & Frames Conservation
• Objects Conservation Conservation of three-dimensional artworks and artifacts in materials including ceramic, glass, stone, wood, lacquer, leather, metal, plastic, and multimedia. Treatments include reassembly, surface integration, polishing, fills, structural repairs, and stabilization of corrosion. Targeted at museums, galleries, and private collectors of decorative and ethnographic art.
• Works on Paper Conservation Conservation of works on paper including prints, drawings, documents, books, scrolls, and paper screens. Services include backing removal, humidification, flattening, stain reduction, foxing treatment, and custom archival enclosures. Targeted at museums, libraries, galleries, and private collectors.
• Outdoor Sculpture Conservation Conservation of outdoor sculptures including stabilization, surface cleaning, corrosion reduction, patination treatment, and structural repair for bronze, weathering steel, painted metal, and other outdoor materials. Targeted at universities, public institutions, and corporate campuses with sculpture collections.
• Murals Conservation Conservation and restoration of mural paintings, including assessment, surface cleaning, consolidation, inpainting, and re-gilding of decorative elements. Targeted at historic sites, public institutions, universities, and municipalities.
• Technical Analysis Technical examination of artworks using advanced imaging techniques including UV illumination, X-ray, and infrared reflectography to analyze composition, identify previous treatments, and inform conservation decisions. Targeted at museums, galleries, collectors, and authentication researchers.
• Collections Management Comprehensive management services for art collections including condition surveys, preventive care planning, environmental monitoring recommendations, and ongoing maintenance programs. Targeted at museums, university collections, and corporate art programs.
• Storage & Transportation Climate-controlled art storage and specialized transportation services for artworks, including custom packing, climate-controlled transport via Sprinter Van, and secure long-term storage solutions. Targeted at museums, galleries, private collectors, and individual art owners.
• Emergency Response Rapid response services for artworks damaged by fire, water, pests, mold, natural disasters, or accidents. Includes damage assessment, documentation, triage, packing, transportation, treatment, and insurance claim support. Targeted at museums, galleries, private collectors, and insurance carriers following disasters.
• Pest Management (Anoxia Treatment) Nitrogen-based anoxic pest control treatment for artworks affected by insects like termites, silverfish, and beetles. Includes dedicated intake space, custom enclosure construction, and daily environmental monitoring. Targeted at museums, galleries, private collectors, and storage facilities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully treated artworks affected by 2017 Santa Rosa wildfires as part of emergency response services
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Sterling Art ServicesminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerFraming and art services partner for projects. Collaborated with Sterling Art Services on the Mission San José painting conservation project where they framed and prepared the conserved artwork for return to the mission.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Midwest Art Conservation Center: Minneapolis-based non-profit regional conservation center serving museums, historical societies, and private collectors across the Midwest; structurally similar private-practice model with comparable service mix to Preservation Arts.
• Balboa Art Conservation Center: San Diego-based non-profit offering paintings, objects, and paper conservation to museums and private collectors across Southern California; competes directly with Preservation Arts for West Coast institutional contracts.
• Williamstown Art Conservation Center: Massachusetts-based non-profit conservation center providing paintings, paper, and objects treatment to New England institutions and collectors; comparable private-practice structure and multi-disciplinary conservation services.
• Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts (CCAHA): Philadelphia-based non-profit conservation center providing treatment for paper, books, and photographs; operates the same private-practice conservation model serving museums, archives, and collectors, making it a directly comparable peer to Preservation Arts' paper and objects departments.
• Northeast Document Conservation Center: Andover, MA-based non-profit specializing in paper and book conservation, including disaster response and training; directly comparable to Preservation Arts' works-on-paper department and emergency response offering.

Broad incumbents

• Getty Conservation Institute: Los Angeles-based research and conservation arm of the Getty Trust working on conservation science, training, and treatment of cultural heritage; broader in scope and mission than Preservation Arts but operates in the same West Coast conservation ecosystem.
• Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies (Harvard Art Museums): Major in-house conservation department at Harvard Art Museums conducting research and treatment across paintings, objects, and works on paper; comparable technical capability and serves as both a reference standard and a potential in-house competitor for institutional clients.
• Smithsonian National Museum Conservation Lab: In-house conservation laboratories serving the Smithsonian's 19 museums and galleries; not a commercial competitor but establishes the bar for technical capability and institutional trust in the U.S. conservation market.

Others

• Sterling Art Services: Framing and art services partner that collaborated with Preservation Arts on the Mission San José painting conservation project; comparable in the broader art-services ecosystem but does not perform conservation treatment, making it an adjacent ecosystem participant rather than a direct competitor.

Emerging players

• Conservation Center at Buffalo State (SUNY): Graduate art conservation program providing treatment services to regional institutions and producing the conservator talent pipeline from which Preservation Arts recruits; adjacent competitor for some client work and a key source of new hires.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/preservation_arts
• Facebookfacebook.com/preservationarts
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/preservation-arts

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Preservation Arts