National Museum of Asian Art Announces $5 Million Gift From Gretchen and David Welch To Endow the Position of Head of Conservation and Scientific Research

A $5 million gift from Gretchen Welch and Career Ambassador David Welch to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art has endowed the leadership position in the museum’s Department of Conservation and Scientific Research. This endowment will support the newly named Welch Head of Conservation and Scientific Research. The endowed position will help ensure that the department maintains its longstanding excellence and scholarship in the field and continues to advance conservation and scientific research worldwide. As the foremost center in the United States for the care and scientific study of the arts of Asia, the department plays an important role in preserving cultural heritage, bringing new insights to historic objects and training the next generation of conservators.

This leadership gift benefits the National Museum of Asian Art's Second Century Campaign. The Second Century Campaign is part of the Smithsonian Campaign for Our Shared Future, which is securing funds for all Smithsonian museums, libraries, education, outreach and research centers and the National Zoo in support of a single, bold vision: to build a better future for all.

Following the July 2024 retirement of Donna Strahan, a highly regarded scholar-conservator who served as department head for 10 years, an international search for candidates for the Welch Head of Conservation and Scientific Research will begin in fall 2024. Over the past 10 years, the department has grown from nine to 15 conservators, scientists and specialists in project management and outreach.

“I want to thank the Welch family for this generous gift,” said Chase F. Robinson, the museum’s director. “The National Museum of Asian Art has the immense privilege and responsibility of caring for one of the world’s most important collections of Asian art—more than 46,000 objects, which tell important stories of culture, history and people. Our department of conservation and scientific research has always been crucial to our mission. This gift recognizes the department’s tireless work behind the scenes to preserve these objects for generations to come—and to produce groundbreaking research that deepens our collective understanding of Asia and the world.”

This new gift builds on the Welch family’s ongoing support of the museum and its conservation and scientific research department. In addition to her service on the museum’s board of trustees, Gretchen Welch has been an active National Museum of Asian Art docent since 2017. In 2021, the Welches created the Gretchen and David Welch Conservator in Training position, which supports the education of the next generation of conservators. Both retired diplomats, the Welches are committed to supporting the arts, education and diplomacy.

 About the Department of Conservation and Scientific Research

The National Museum of Asian Art’s Department of Conservation and Scientific Research began with the hiring of Japanese painting mounters and the establishment of the East Asian Painting Conservation Studio in 1932. This facility remains one of the few in the U.S. that specializes in the conservation of Asian paintings. The technical laboratory was established in 1951 and is the first Smithsonian facility devoted to the use of scientific methods for the study of works of art. The technical laboratory’s work has expanded to include objects, paper and exhibits conservation.

In May 2024, the department was honored with awards from the prestigious American Institute for Conservation and Foundation for Advancement in Conservation. Donna Strahan received the Robert L. Feller Lifetime Achievement Award for exceptional contributions to the conservation profession over the course of her career. Blythe McCarthy, interim associate director of conservation and scientific research and Andrew W. Mellon Senior Scientist, and Jennifer Giaccai, conservation scientist, won the publication award for excellence for their work in Scientific Studies of Pigments in Chinese Paintings.

About Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art is committed to preserving, exhibiting, researching and interpreting art in ways that deepen our collective understanding of Asia and the world. Home to more than 46,000 objects, the museum stewards one of North America’s largest and most comprehensive collections of Asian art, with works dating from antiquity to the present from China, Japan, Korea, South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Islamic world. Its rich holdings bring the arts of Asia into direct dialogue with an important collection of 19th- and early 20th-century American works, providing an essential platform for creative collaboration and cultural exchange between the United States, Asia and the Middle East.

A 1906 gift from Charles Lang Freer paved the way for the museum’s opening in 1923, and today the National Museum of Asian Art is a leading resource for visitors, students and scholars in the United States and internationally. Its galleries, laboratories, archives and library are located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The museum is free and open to the public 364 days a year (closed Dec. 25), making its exhibitions, programs, learning opportunities and digital initiatives accessible to global audiences.

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