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Rutherford John Gettens (January 17, 1900 - June 17, 1974) was an American chemist and art conservator known for his manifold publications advancing the field of art conservation. He worked closely with George L. Stout, who together authored Painting Materials: A Short Encyclopaedia, first published in 1942 and even translated into Japanese in 1972.

He was born on January 17, 1900 to Daniel and Clara (née Rutherford) Gettens in Mooers, New York. He attended Harvard University and became employed at the Fogg Art Museum in 1928. In 1930, he married Katharine Cavalle and they lived in Lexington, Massachusetts. In 1951, soon after becoming the Chief of Museum Technical Research, Gettens was recruited to join the Smithsonian Institution Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, DC and helped found its Tech Lab.

He had problems of deficient eyesight throughout his life such that he wore heavy lenses.

He was a founding fellow of the International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, later serving as council member, vice president and then president from 1968-1971.

Early life
He attended school in Mooers, NY and was the valedictorian of his graduating class in 1918.

College education and early career
In 1923, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science from Middlebury College in Vermont. He also taught chemistry at Colby College in Maine. Gettens went on to attend Harvard University, where he completed a Master of Arts in 1929. In 1928, he joined the staff of the Fogg Art Museum of Harvard, and 21 years later, became the Chief of Museum Technical Research.

Mid-career
In 1951, Gettens became Associate in Technical Research at the Freer Gallery of Art, part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. The then-director Archibald Wenley had recruited him to fill a three-year gap between the retirement of Japanese painting mounter Kinoshita Kōkichi in 1950 and Kinoshita's successor, Sugiyura Takashi. With Rutherford J. Gettens' arrival, the Laboratory for Technical Studies in Oriental Art and Archaeology (now known as the "Tech Lab") was established. Gettens brought with him samples, books, equipment, and records. As of 2013, several of Gettens' books and those that he asked to purchase from the Harvard Library to support the Tech Lab's establishment are still part of the Freer Library. In 1961, he became the Head Curator of the Tech Lab, though the position is now known as "conservation scientist".

Later years and death
In 1968, Gettens became President of the International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, and research consultant to the Freer Gallery.

In January of 1974, he had become interested in the history of conservation and in June, proposed a project on the topic at the second annual meeting (May 30-June 1) of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) in Cooperstown, NY. According to a preliminary program of the meeting, his talk was titled "Thoughts Apropos A History of Conservation". At the meeting, he was also made the first honorary member of the AIC. He also began writing recollections of his time spent at the Fogg Art Museum. Gettens expected to undergo corrective eye surgery in the fall of 1974. However, he died of a "massive heart ailment" on June 17, 1974, two days after he and his wife purchased a cemetery lot.