Person

Mizushima, Keiko

1939–1989

Keiko Mizushima Keyes was born on July 25, 1939, in Himeji, Japan. She attended the International Christian University in Tokyo, 1958-1961, majoring in art history and archaeology. She later went to Sarah Lawrence College, where in 1962, she received a BA degree in art history and the psychology of art. Following graduation she married Roger Keyes, a dealer in prints and drawings, and began to work with him in his business. About this time, she started to develop her conservation skills. From 1964-1966, she worked as a cataloguer and in sales with R.E. Lewis, Inc., San Francisco, a dealer in western prints and drawings, Japanese wood block prints, and Indian miniature painting. In December 1966, Mrs. Keyes traveled to Japan and apprenticed for ten months with Mr. Iwataro Oka, chairman of the Mounter’s Association for National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties. She then returned to the United States and applied traditional Japanese restoration techniques to western works of art, becoming one of the first to do so. During the next nine years, Mrs. Keyes researched Japanese woodblock prints and wrote books and articles on the conservation techniques that she had acquired over the years. In 1975, Mrs. Keyes became an independent conservator of works of art on paper. She taught in the Cooperstown Graduate Program, led seminars, delivered lectures, and continued to publish about paper conservation. In 1981, Mrs. Keyes started her own business, K.M. Keyes, Inc., which continued into the late 1980s. She was a member and a fellow of professional organizations and served as a consultant and resident conservator to institutions in the United States and Europe.