Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 446
•
Trim: 6¼ x 9½
978-1-4422-3881-7 • Hardback • October 2015 • $123.00 • (£95.00)
978-1-4422-3882-4 • Paperback • October 2015 • $62.00 • (£48.00)
978-1-4422-3883-1 • eBook • October 2015 • $58.50 • (£45.00)
Brent Powell has worked in the museum industry for thirty years within the
United States and Australia. He has created handling manuals for the Nelson-Atkins Museum
of Art, Kansas City, Missouri, and developed ongoing training and educational programs
for many institutions including the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and the
National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia.
Powell has conducted and spoken at numerous workshops and sessions on handling art
and artifacts throughout the United States at the American Alliance of Museums Annual
Meetings, Webinars, regional museum conferences, conservation courses, and private
programs for colleges, private collectors, and commercial fine art handling companies. In
Australia he has conducted workshops for the Australian Registrars Committee, Regional
Victoria; in Malaysia at the University of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur; and for the M+ Museum,
University of Hong Kong, in Hong Kong, China. Powell is principal of his private company,
Museum Collection Care. He is currently manager and training coordinator at Crozier Fine Arts in New York , NY. He has a Master of Fine Art in painting from the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Preface
Part 1: Overview and History
Chapter 1: History
Focus On: Creating an Institutional Preservation Culture, Rebecca Fifield
Chapter 2: Organizational Structures
Case Study: Comparing Approaches: The Museum and the Transport Agent, Jim Grundy
Chapter 3: Training, Health, and Safety
Case Study: Mentoring and the Collection Care Profession, Kurt Christian
Case Study: Training at Crozier, Nicole Bouchard Tejeiro
Part 2: Guidelines and Principles
Chapter 4: Two-dimensional Objects: Procedures and Practices
Focus On: The US National Park Service Museum Handbooks: The Evolution of a Museum Manual, Dr. Abby Sue Fisher
Chapter 5: Three-dimensional Objects: Procedures and Practices
Focus On: Rigging Safety Is No Accident, Kevin Marshall
Focus On: Risk Assessment in Packing Design, John Molini
Part 3: Working within Collection Care Environments
Chapter 6: The Internal Environment
Focus On: Lighting in the Museum, Simm Steel
Chapter 7: The External Environment
Focus On: Art Packing and Transport: Cushioning Foam Selection and Application, Geoff Browne
Focus On: International Shipping by Air and Sea, Kim Powell
Chapter 8: Working with Materials and Equipment
Focus On: Specialized Art Handling Equipment: When It Is Necessary & How to Develop It, Mark Slattery
Bibliography
References and Resources
About the Contributors
About the Author
Aimed at individuals of all levels of experience, this work dealing with the care of museum collections offers readers an impressive overview of basic tenets and practices. Powell has one-of-a-kind expertise in the field and provides unique insights based on his experiences in both museum and commercial settings. The book begins with an introduction to collection care, including an important chapter on training and personal safety. Subsequent sections cover the principles of handling and caring for two- and three-dimensional artifacts, emphasizing the importance of proper risk assessment and informed decision-making. The final two chapters discuss internal and external environmental factors relevant to collection care, including storage, condition reporting, crating, and transport. One key contribution of this book is its many photos, which provide a visual reference for handling techniques and apparatuses. Such a generously illustrated reference work is rare and extremely useful. The volume concludes with an extensive 'References and Resources' section, which guides readers to more detailed information on all the topics covered in the book. Overall, Collection Care is a unique and important addition to the literature, and suitable for all collections supporting museum studies and operations. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-level undergraduates through researchers/faculty; professionals/practitioners.
— Choice Reviews
Many books address collection care, but they tend to be written by specialists for specialists. Thus, they are inclined to be narrowly focused and too often beyond the grasp of a generalist seeking a broad understanding of collection care. Brent Powell’s book is an exception, aimed to educate a wide range of individuals. Anyone who manages a collection, or puts on a pair of gloves to move a small bronze, or packs a large sculpture for shipment overseas, should profit from reading Collection Care: An Illustrated Handbook for the Care and Handling of Cultural Objects.
— Mervin Richard, Chief of Conservation, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
• Contributors: Geoff Browne, Terry Dowd, Inc.; Kurt Christian, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA; Rebecca Fifield, collections management consultant; Abby Sue Fisher, collection care consultant; Jim Grundy, Gander & White Shipping, London, UK; Kevin Marshall, J. Paul Getty Museum; John Molini, The Art Institute of Chicago;Kim Powell, Crozier Fine Art; Mervin Richard, National Gallery of Art, Washington; Mark Slattery, National Gallery, London, UK; Simm Steel, Art Gallery of New South Wales; and Nicole Bouchard Tejeiro, Crozier Fine Arts.