Amber Kerr joined the Smithsonian American Art Museum as a graduate intern in 2007 and after receiving her MS in conservation  she was awarded two sequentially served Research Fellowships working with Ann Creager, retired paintings conservator at SAAM.  Amber has served as paintings conservator at the Smithsonian American Art Museum Lunder Conservation Center since 2011, and is now Chief of Conservation at SAAM's Lunder Conservation Center. 

Amber received her Master of Science from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation and is a dedicated advocate for raising professional and public awareness in conservation, preservation, and technical art history.  Beyond her role as paintings conservator, Ms. Kerr is a Fellow of the International Institute of Conservation where she serves as Vice President, in addition to her contributing roles as Social Network Editor for the IIC Facebook, Linked In, and Twitter pages, and Chair of the IIC Dialogue Series.  She is an advisor for IIC and ICCROM-CC advancement programs for emerging conservation professionals and students, and advisory chair of the IIC Student Poster Committee.  Ms. Kerr serves as a guest lecturer on public outreach for the University of Delaware Graduate Department in Arts and Sciences and has served on the governing board for the Society of Winterthur Fellows, on the board of directors and as a past officer for the Washington Conservation Guild, and is a founding organizer and past officer of education and outreach for the AIC Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN).

Article

• Teeter, Keara, Mendez, Natalie, Manthey, Gwen, Kerr, Amber, and Lam, Thomas. 2021. "Case Study of SEM-EDS Cross-Sections to Assist in Understanding p-XRF Results from William H. Johnson Paintings." Microscopy and Microanalysis, 27 3204–3206. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1431927621011065. 2021
• Doherty, Tiarna, Ingalls, Helen, Kerr, Amber, Maynor, Catherine, and Umberger, Leslie. 2016. "Conserving the self-taught artists collection at the Smithsonian American Art Museum." Studies in Conservation, 61, (Supplement 2) 38–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/00393630.2016.1188616. 2016
• Angelova, Lora Vihrova, Berrie, Barbara H., de Ghetaldi, Kristen, Kerr, Amber, and Weiss, Richard G. 2014. "Partially hydrolyzed poly(vinyl acetate)-borax-based gel-like materials for conservation of art: Characterization and applications." Studies in Conservation, 60, (4) 227–244. https://doi.org/10.1179/2047058413Y.0000000112. 2014
• Kerr-Allison, Amber. 2011. "Looking Out and Looking In: A Perspective on Public Outreach." AIC news : newsletter of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, 36, (3) 1–4. 2011

Chapter

• Kerr, Amber and Tompkins, William G. 2021. "Acknowledgments." In Stemming the Tide: Global Strategies for Sustaining Cultural Heritage through Climate Change. Rushfield, Rebecca A., editor. vii–x. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press. In A Smithsonian Contribution to Knowledge, 54. (https://doi.org/10.5479/si.14750727.v1) 2021
• Nikolaus, Sydney, Manthey, Gwen, Ho, Melissa, and Kerr, Amber. 2021. "Composing Color: The Materials and Techniques of Alma Woodsey Thomas." In Alma W. Thomas: Everything Is Beautiful. Feman, Seth and Walz, Jonathan Frederick, editors. 93–107. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. 2021
• Baade, Brian, Kerr-Allison, Amber, and Giaccai, Jennifer A. 2012. "Pursuit of the Ideal Effect: The Materials and Techniques of Henry Ossawa Tanner." In Henry Ossawa Tanner: Modern Spirit. Marley, Anna O., editor. 157–165. Philadelphia: Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. 2012
• Kerr-Allison, Amber. 2011. "Pursuit of the Ideal Effect: The Materials and Techniques of Henry Ossawa Tanner." In Henry Ossawa Tanner: Modern Spirit. Baade, Brian and Giaccai, Jennifer, editors. 157–165. Berkeley: University of California Press. 2011

Conference Paper

• Kerr, Amber and Dajnowski, Bartosz. 2023. "The Three Ps in a Sustainable Practice: Persistence, Patience, and Perseverance." from Working Toward a Sustainable Past. ICOM-CC Valencia 2023 20th Triennial Conference (Valencia, Spain) 2023-09-18. Paris, France: International Council of Museums. 2023

Review

• Kerr, Amber. 2020. [Book review] "Current Technical Challenges in the Conservation of Paintings, edited by Angelina Barros D'Sa, Lizze Bone, Rhiannon Clarricoates, and Helen Dowding." News in Conservation: the Newspaper of the International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, IIC, (78), 47–49. 2020

Webpage

• Kerr, Amber, Manthey, Gwen, and Teeter, Keara. 2023. Chronicles in Wax-Resin Lining: A Historic Look at Lining Practices and Their Effectual Legacy on Paintings in the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Conserving Canvas. Jul 25, 2023 Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles. 2023