LUAG’s collection does not only hang in the galleries. It can be found around campus in nearly every academic building. This week our curatorial staff took a trip to the campus’ President’s House to acquire paintings for a masterworks exhibition scheduled for this fall. Paintings which hung over mantels and on beautiful wallpaper were taken down and replaced by other pieces from the collection.

The curatorial staff is in charge of displaying the collection around campus for the benefit of staff, faculty and students. Artworks are constantly being switched around, so you can always find something new. There are many reasons new artwork is installed. New people in an office may call for a different direction for the decor. The amount of time a piece is displayed is also important when deciding to replace it. The longer a piece is out in the open, the longer it is exposed to the elements, which is not  beneficial for its preservation.

When pieces from the collection are out in the open their condition must be closely monitored. Factors that could effect preservation, such as light, air, and cleaning chemicals just to name a few, are all concerns of the curatorial staff. Each piece’s material and possible wear must be considered when deciding where and how long to install it on campus.

To identify pieces from the collection look for a white label close to the artwork noting artist, title, material, year and accession number. Pieces that were installed around campus long ago were marked by a silver sticker on the frame with their accession number. A few of these pieces still remain, but as they are switched out, the newer way of identification using the white label is followed.