The Masterworks exhibition: A case study in climate control and the role of the conservator in an international exhibition

Shelley Reisman Paine

Abstract

In October 1990 the Tennessee State Museum and the Bridgestone Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan opened an exhibition of sixty impressionist paintings in Nashville, Tennessee. At that time, the Bridgestone Museum of Art asked Shelley Reisman Paine to act as representative of the paintings during the exhibition. This involved resolution of several unusual situations. They are: 1. developing a contract and detailing responsibilities and authority of the conservator which allowed the conservator to be employed by both institutions simultaneously as an advocate for the paintings; 2. developing an effective means to alter the mechanical system and the building to provide an appropriate climate to the gallery; and 3. developing a disaster plan for the gallery.

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1991 | Albuquerque | Volume 1