Meet the Staff

Rachel Mustalish joined the department in 1998. She works on drawings and prints across the collection with specializations in European and American modernism, international contemporary art, and prints. Her work focuses on treatment, examination, and research of materials and techniques used by artists. She teaches and lectures internationally and is a fellow of both the American Institute for Conservation and International Institute for Conservation. She received her BA in art history and environmental science from Wesleyan University, a MA in the history of art and a certificate of advanced study in conservation from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, and a PhD from the Courtauld Institute, University of London.

Marjorie Shelley (MA art history, Institute of Fine Arts; Certificate, degree, Conservation Center, NYU), oversees the conservation of drawings and prints from seventeen curatorial departments. A specialist in fifteenth through early twentieth century drawings and pastels, she frequently lectures and has written numerous publications on drawing materials and artists’ practices; among them, Rembrandt, Fragonard, Wright of Darby, Audubon, Delacroix, Degas, Van Gogh, Cezanne and Sargent. She is editor and chief author of The Met’s preservation manual, The Care and Handling of Art Objects; instituted an annual technical art history symposium on works on paper, and established a collection of historic artists’ materials.

Yana van Dyke joined the Museum in 1999 after earning her MS in art conservation from The Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation. Specializing in the conservation of works of art on paper and parchment, Yana frequently liaisons with the departments of Medieval Art and the Cloisters, Asian Art, and Islamic Art. A recognized Professional Associate of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, a member of the International Council of Museums Committee for Conservation, and the Society of Winterthur Fellows, she is actively involved in both the U.S. and the international conservation community as an instructor, mentor, and author.

Marina Ruiz Molina joined the Department of Paper Conservation in 2010. She trained as a paper conservator at the School for Conservation of Cultural Heritage in Madrid, Spain, and has since specialized in the research and treatment of three-dimensional, multi-layered works on paper. Marina works with drawings and prints from across departments, with emphasis on the collection of works on paper by the studios of Louis Comfort Tiffany. She also serves as liaison for collections in Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, South Asian, and Colonial Latin American.

Rebecca Capua joined the staff of the Paper Conservation Department in 2009. She works with art on paper from across the Museum’s collection with a special focus on prints from the Department of Drawings and Prints and papyrus from the Department of Egyptian Art. Her primary research has explored that materials and techniques of artists working in the Japonisme style in the US and Europe, and the role of facsimiles in the Museum. She is a graduate of Barnard College and New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts – Conservation Center.

Colleen Watkins joined the Paper Conservation Department in December 2022 as Assistant Paper Conservator for the Tang Wing Project. Colleen earned a BA in art history, studio art, and Spanish from the University of Minnesota, a MA in the history of art from the New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts, and MA and certificate of advanced study in art conservation from the Garman Art Conservation Program at SUNY Buffalo State College.

Martin Bansbach’s primary task is the housing of all works from the seventeen curatorial collections that come through Paper Conservation including works on paper, parchment, and papyrus. Most housing consists of cutting acid-free rag-board mats to allow for safer handling and storage of exhibition and loan objects. Martin also frames and unframes works of art that are fragile or problematic, such as pastels, and constructs custom storage boxes and exhibition book cradles. Martin’s position requires a substantial and satisfying amount of interdepartmental interface, as well as cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Johnathan Lewis joined the Paper Conservation department in the Spring of 2022. Working closely with the team of conservators, he coordinates with almost every curatorial department at The Met to ensure artworks on paper are prepared in time for exhibitions and outgoing loans. He is responsible for the department’s operating budget and donor funds, as well as all administrative duties, including orchestrating annual departmental symposiums and assisting with preparations for all Visiting Committee events and communications. Johnathan grew up in Miami, Florida and has a BFA in photography from Massachusetts College of Art in Boston.