Christa M. Gaehde, 79; Expert on Conservation of Prints and Drawings

Christa M. Gaehde, 79, a leading American expert on the conservation of prints and drawings, died April 3 in Arlington, Mass., after being hit by a car, according to her husband, Joachim Gaehde.

Born in Dresden, Germany, she studied chemistry at the University of Innsbruck in Austria. Gaehde and her husband moved to the United States in 1949.

Gaehde acquired an encyclopedic knowledge of old papers and inks, and devised many new ways of removing marks and stains without damaging the stability of the basic materials. She also used old paper to patch and repair torn and damaged artworks.

Jonathan Rendell, an old print expert at Christie’s in New York City, called her a “miracle worker who inspired a whole movement.”

A freelance specialist, Gaehde worked for many American museums, including the Guggenheim and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Library of Congress.

In 1965, she published “A Guide to the Collecting and Care of Original Prints,” written with Carl Zigrosser.