Dr Naomi Luxford, FIIC

Senior Lecturer in Preventive Conservation

Naomi Luxford is a preventive conservation scientist whose research interests focus on material deterioration in collections, primarily arising from environmental causes. She has carried out research on a wide range of materials including silk, veneer and marquetry furniture, lacquer coatings for silver, mesh blinds, daguerreotype cover glasses, wallpaper and stone deterioration. Naomi came to the Courtauld after ten years as a conservation scientist at English Heritage. Her work at English Heritage focussed on environmental control and monitoring, including display cases, heating systems, light control and the storage of collections. With an emphasis on how object requirements and indoor environmental conditions relate to building performance, particularly in historic buildings.

Naomi studied her MSci in Chemistry (2003) at the University of Bristol. She has an MA in Conservation, specialising in conservation science in the care of historic collections (2006), from the RCA/V&A Conservation programme. Her PhD in Conservation Science (2009) from the University of Southampton focussed on the deterioration of silk in historic houses. She held a Clothworkers鈥 Conservation Science Fellowship at English Heritage (2015), AHRC/EPSRC Science and Heritage Post-Doctoral Fellowship at UCL (2010-2013) and was a research scholar at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (2005).

Dr Naomi Luxford, FIIC
Email

Research interests

  • Materials deterioration
  • Preventive conservation, including environmental control and collection display methods
  • Conservation science
  • Accelerated ageing
  • Historic buildings preservation
  • Data analysis, interpretation and visualisation

Publications

  • Luxford, N., Batool, T., Thickett, D. and Lankester, P. (2025) 鈥樷 Scientific Culture, 11(1), 41-48.
  • Thickett, D., Pretzel, B., Shah, B. and Luxford, N. (2024) 鈥樷 Color Culture and Science Journal (Cultura e Scienza del Colore), 16(2), 108-117.
  • Luxford, N. (2020) 鈥樷, Studies in Conservation, 65:S1, 199-202.
  • Padfield, J. and Luxford, N. (2017) 鈥樷 in Preprints ICOM-CC 18th Triennial Conference, Copenhagen, 4-8th September 2017
  • Stanley, B., Luxford, N. and Downes, S. (2016) 鈥楳ould Attacks! A Practical and effective method of treating mould contaminated stonework鈥 in 13th International Congress on the Deterioration and Conservation of Stone, 6-10 September 2016, Glasgow.
  • Macmillan, A., Davies, M., Shrubsole, C., Luxford, N., May, N., Chiu, L.-F., Trutnevyte, E., Bobrova, Y. and Chalabi, Z. (2016) 鈥樷 Environmental Health, 15 (S1) 23-34.
  • Curteis, T. and Luxford, N. (2014) 鈥樷 Journal of Architectural Conservation, 20(3), 170-183.
  • Thickett, D., Luxford, N. and Lankester, P. (2014) 鈥楨nvironmental Management Challenges and Strategies in Historic Houses鈥 in The Artifact, Its Context, and Their Narrative: Multidisciplinary Conservation in Historic House Museums, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Nov 6-9, 2012, Proceedings of the Joint Conference of ICOM-DEMHIST and three ICOM-CC working groups, K. Seymour and M. Sawicki (ed.) Italy: ICOM-CC.
  • Luxford, N. and Thickett, D. (2013) 鈥楳onitoring complex objects in real display environments 鈥 how helpful is it?鈥 in Climate for Collections Standards and Uncertainties. 7-9 November 2012, Munich, J. Ashley-Smith, A. Burmester and M. Eibl (ed.) London: Archetype. 257-270.
  • Luxford, N. and Thickett, D. (2013) 鈥楥hange or Damage? Using dissemination to encourage public involvement in conservation research鈥 in The Public Face of Conservation. E. Williams (ed.) London: Archetype. 66-75.
  • Luxford, N., Strli膷, M. and Thickett, D. (2013) 鈥樷 Studies in Conservation, 58(1), 1-12.
  • Luxford, N. (2012) 鈥楽ilk durability and degradation鈥 in Understanding and improving the durability of textiles P. Annis (ed.) Cambridge: Woodhead Publishing, 205-232.
  • Luxford, N. and Thickett, D. (2011) 鈥樷 Journal of the Institute of Conservation, 34, 115-127.
  • Luxford, N., Thickett, D. and Wyeth, P. (2011) 鈥樷 in Preprints ICOM-CC 16th Triennial Conference, Lisbon, 19-23 September 2011, J. Bridgland (ed.) Almada, Portugal: Crit茅rio.
  • Luxford, N., Thickett, D and Wyeth, P. (2010) 鈥楢pplying Preventive Conservation Recommendations for Silk in Historic Houses鈥 in Proceedings of the joint interim conference Multidisciplinary Conservation: A Holistic View for Historic Interiors. 23-26 March 2010, Rome, E. Janssen, M. Parris, M. Sawicki, K. Seymour and A. Thorn (ed.) Italy: ICOM-CC.
  • Luxford, N., Thickett, D. And Wyeth, P. (2009) 鈥樷 in Natural Fibres in Australasia: Proceedings of the Combined (NZ and AUS) Conference of the Textile Institute. 15-17 April 2009, Dunedin, C. A. Wilson and R. M. Laing (ed.) Dunedin, New Zealand: The Textile Institute. 151-156.
  • Luxford, N. and Thickett, D. (2007) 鈥楶reventing silver tarnish 鈥 Lifetime determination of cellulose nitrate lacquer鈥 Metal 07, 5, 88 鈥 93.
  • Thickett, D. and Luxford, N. (2007) 鈥楧evelopment of show cases for archaeological metals in aggressive environments鈥 Metal 07, 5, 105 鈥 109.
  • Thickett, D., David, F. and Luxford, N., (2005/6) 鈥樷, The Conservator, 29, 19-34.

Citations