Paper conservator (and INCCA member) Nadia Kersten-Pampiglione from the Teylers Museum has created a useful format in Excel to use to document (artist) information about works on paper.
Teylers Museum is situated in Haarlem and is the oldest museum in The Netherlands (1779). The museum has a large and diverse collection from prints and paintings, to fossils and minerals, and even scientific instruments, coins and medals. Some 10,000 drawings and 20,000 prints (dating from the 15 century until the 21 century) are part of the collection and highlights are exhibited on a rotating basis in the Prints and Drawings Room. This museum has a growing amount of modern and contemporary works on paper in the collection.
Work of art on paper can be as challenging as any 3-D object. Sometimes it is not clear what material the artist has used (shoe polish or gouache, toothpaste or white paint?). Wrinkles and unevenness in the paper can be an intentional compositional detail or accidentally caused by changes in humidity. As the modern collection grows, the conservators feel the need to collect more information about the materials of the objects and the wishes of the artist regarding issues such as framing or repairing degradation.
For this reason, the conservation department decided to create an excel format that can be filled in by curators and conservators during an artist interview. This will provide information and instructions for conserving and/or exhibiting the works now and in the future.
Teylers Museum has kindly agreed to share this format to other professionals via INCCA. Users are free to adjust and change the format to suit their own situation. However, Teylers Museum would appreciate to receive a feed back of any changes that are made. Please send and comments/questions to Nadia Kersten-Pampiglione. nkersten@teylersmuseum.nl
Download excel format: Tylers Museum artist questionnaire