The Conservation Department is responsible for the conservation and protection of the works of art in the collection, on which it also conducts research to acquire a better understanding of twentieth-century art techniques and materials.

This research includes preventive conservation, artists’ techniques, the technical peculiarities of the individual materials, and their relation to the environment in order to best assess the causes of deterioration and the resulting conservations issues.

Collaboration among the museum's departments helps prioritize the necessary conservation treatments. Programs of maintenance, preventive conservation, and conservation thus follow. The department also sets guidelines for the safe handling of the works of art, and takes appropriate measures to create the ideal environment for both display and storage.