National Gallery to Showcase HSDS Work at IIC Congress

We’re delighted that our partners at the National Gallery, London are presenting a poster this week at the IIC 31st Congress, Ghent 2026, showcasing their work as part of their partnership in the HSDS.

The poster, “Towards accessible interconnected digital heritage science and conservation documentation: The Heritage Science Data Service project and the National Gallery, London“, looks at one of the biggest challenges facing conservation science today: how to keep track of the vast amount of data generated by decades of technical examination and conservation work.

The National Gallery holds almost 100 years’ worth of research records from the examination and conservation of its paintings. It’s an extraordinary resource, used daily by staff and consulted regularly by external researchers, but like many institutions, these records are spread across different formats and locations, making them hard to search and putting valuable detail at risk of being lost.

The National Gallery is helping tackle this problem starting with paint sample documentation. Working with the wider research community, the team is developing a standardised metadata framework that preserves the vital links between artworks and the conservation and scientific analysis they’ve undergone, an approach designed not just to benefit the Gallery, but to be scalable across other institutions facing the same challenges. Paint samples are unique, limited, and often partially or wholly consumed during analysis. Better tracking of the connections between artworks, samples, data, and interpretation helps prevent unnecessary re-sampling and makes existing data easier to find and reuse.

The poster makes the case that a collaborative, cross-institutional approach to conservation documentation leads to data that is better structured, more sustainably preserved, and more widely accessible, ultimately supporting stronger research and conservation outcomes across the sector. We look forward to seeing the National Gallery team share this work with the wider conservation community in Ghent.

Learn more about the IIC 31st Congress: iiconservation.org