Andrew Lins Records

Andrew Lins was a conservator of arts and sculpture at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. He joined the museum in 1979 and retired in 2015. Starting in 1997, he chaired the museum’s conservation division, overseeing the care of the museum’s collection and the operations of six departments.

Born in Manhattan to Marion Stewart and John Philip Lins II, Mr. Lins attended the Hotchkiss School in Connecticut. He received a bachelor’s degree in the natural sciences from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in art history from New York University. He earned a master’s degree in science from Sir John Cass College in London and a diploma in art conservation from the Institute of Fine Arts in New York.

Lins was an expert in metal corrosion and sculpture conservation. His technical advice was sought in conserving some of the nation’s foremost historic treasures, including the Statue of Liberty, the Lincoln Memorial, the Liberty Bell, and the William Penn statue atop City Hall. He erved as metals conservation consultant to the National Park Service and lectured at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Delaware, and the State University of New York at Buffalo. Lins was also a founding member of the Philadelphia Conservation Advisory Committee, and for 30 years, starting in the mid-1980s, volunteered his time and expertise to the city’s public art staff.