The Delta Plan: a nationwide rescue operation

Abstract

A byword in the international museum community, the Delta Plan for the Preservation of the Cultural Heritage has made the Netherlands a leader in the field of preventive conservation. Moreover, it has demonstrated how enlightened political vision and commitment can buttress the efforts of heritage professionals to benefit the community at large. M. Kirby Talley Jr is an art historian, author, educator and Executive Counsellor for International Cultural Heritage Policy at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands. He was the Founding Director of the State Training School for Restorers in the Netherlands; Director of the Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, Ohio; and Curator of Old Master Paintings for the Netherlands State Collections. In 1989, he drew up the Delta Plan for the Preservation of the Netherlands Cultural Heritage for the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. A contributing editor to Art News, Dr Talley publishes and lectures extensively. His latest book, as co‐author and co‐editor, is Historical and Philosophical Issues in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage, published by the Getty Conservation Institute in 1996. He is currently serving as Acting Director of the St Petersburg International Centre for Preservation, an initiative of the Getty Conservation Institute, the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Municipal Government of St Petersburg. In 1996 the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands joined the founding partners in support of this project.