Jean Brown, one of my mentors and heroes, is in charge of the art 
collection as well as the archives/records management program.

Mike

At 12:46 PM 3/22/2006, you wrote:
>As many of you know, FIRELOCK gets called upon to protect some truly 
>unique collections. I am working on a project now which is really 
>exciting and my vaulting side is happy but due to the vast 
>subversion of this List on my psyche, my records management side is troubled.
>
>Due to confidentiality, I cannot be specific but imagine I am in 
>France and Louie Monet calls me and asks my assistance in protecting 
>some paintings from the French Impressionist era.  As I move forward 
>I realize he is talking about the MONET!  And as heir, he has over 
>250 original paintings in that collection.   Now I realize that this 
>is a significant project, not just for me, but for an entire art movement.
>But as the owner of the artwork, he is only interested in protecting 
>the paintings.  But now I realize that I am out of my depth and I 
>need to convince the heir to do more than lock them away in a dark vault.
>
>I don't have a problem with providing the perfect temperature and 
>humidity for archival storage.  The painting will be stored on 
>special shelves and in the dark and HEPA filters to slow deterioration.
>
>But shouldn't records management play a role here.  List each 
>painting, provide a description, develop some history behind it? 
>Should an art school master be called in to provide some 
>guidance?  Through the generations, painting have been lost due to 
>museums borrowing them and then not returning them. So some vehicle 
>should be put in place to control lending the paintings out but 
>making sure they return?
>
>This is an older couple and they are the sweetest people and I want 
>to make sure that as they get older and the collection grows in 
>value that they have more than just a vault.  Has anyone dealt with 
>this for their corporate art collection?
>
>They value their privacy most, so I need to be able to just provide 
>them some guidelines that are simple and easy to follow.  I feel 
>that I have an opportunity to play a role in protecting __________'s 
>cultural heritage and I don't want to overlook anything.  Maybe this 
>is more an issue for the Archives List so Peter if you want to cross 
>post, that is okay.  I just want to get this right.
>
>I still think my biggest thrill would be protecting an original copy 
>of the Declaration of Independence (there are several out there ) or 
>possibly one of the original Gutenberg Bibles but this is definitely 
>one of those exciting moments that makes your heart skip a beat.
>
>
>Hugh Smith
>FIRELOCK Fireproof Modular Vaults
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>(610)  756-4440    Fax (610)  756-4134
>WWW.FIRELOCK.COM
>
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