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September 17, 1999

Charge for checking bags

We check bags, coats, hats, umbrellas etc free. Admission is free, so levying a charge on bags etc, especially when we encourage people to deposit them, would be like a de facto admission charge. There is a donation box placed strategically nearby, and our Coats and Bags Host will point it out if people ask about a charge.
Stuart Park
Te Papa
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

From: USartcop@aol.com
Subject:

Interpol database

Dear Mr Cremers, It should be noted that the United States is NOT a signatory to the Unidroit Convention. No art may be legally seized under this Convention in the United States. This was not previously mentioned, and I believe that It is an important point to bring out. I personally, would strongly object to the private, untraceable, access to the Interpol Stolen Art database and would have to strongly reconsider providing such information in the future to Interpol, if it is subject to publication in a CD. There are already in place several excellent private data bases ( Art Loss Register, Trace) and law enforcement resources(FBI National Stolen Art File) of stolen art and cultural property which unilaterally maintain a history of inquiries which are extremely important to law enforcement officers. I have utilized both types of data bases quite successfully in the last eleven years to trace and recover literally hundreds of works of stolen art and artifacts. Unfortunately the CD proposed by Interpol provides for access to this information without the ability to trace the person making the inquiry. Unless we restrict access to this material to a traceable record, we will never know the identities of those in contact with the stolen art, unless they decide to step forward. After all, isn't this all about recovering the stolen art ,prosecuting the culpable parties and discouraging future thefts?
Virginia M. Curry

From: Boylan P P.Boylan@city.ac.uk
Subject:

re: comment Interpol CD

James:
Many thanks.
I'm quite alarmed that some pressure groups with support in Congress are trying to establish the principle that checking just one "approved" list should be conclusive proof of "due diligence".
I also get fed up with the pleadings from some museum quarters about their "difficult" inheritance. For almost two decades I directed the regional museum with the biggest collection of 20th century German art in Britain (Leicester - one of my crazy predecessors thought that 1943 was a good time to start collecting and exhibiting German impressionism & expressionism, with help from recently arrived refugees - e.g. a really major Franz Marc oil for US. $400!!). By the time I took over in 1972 the art market was just starting to become seriously interested and we established our own rules ("The Leicestershire Code on the Ethics of Acquisition) in 1974. This, which was eventually incorporated first in the UK Museum Ethics Code, and then that of the International Council of Museums, set out very clearly the principle of requiring a positive provenance rather than negative evidence of a policeman chasing the dealer down the street.
I would guess that well over 90% of the works that were subsequently offered to us or which were listed in auction catalogues were turned down immediately - though many were then bought by other museums in the UK, USA and elsewhere. Nevertheless we were able to add around 200 quality works to the 20th C. German collection, always buying from well documented sources, such as descendents and other close relatives of the artist or known collectors of good character who had acquired the works from the artist or a legitimate dealer etc.
Patrick Boylan
===============================
On Thu, 16 Sep 1999, james linza wrote:
excellent comments regarding due diligence and the CD rom from interpol.
regards,
james linza
antiquarian and modern books
e-mail: linza@worldnet.att.net

Museums Booming All Over the U.S.

Economy fuels surge in construction

Suzanne Muchnic, Los Angeles Times
Name an American city -- anyplace with a population of 100,000 or more. Chances are that city's either building or planning a new art museum, or expanding and renovating an existing one. If not, it probably opened a new museum or added a wing to its old facility within the past few years.
From New York to San Diego, and Milwaukee to Houston -- not forgetting Cincinnati; Davenport, Iowa; and Kansas City, Mo. -- the country seems to have been seized by an urge to pour public and private resources into art palaces. Currently, about $2 billion is being spent on American art museums' expansion and renovation projects.
This might appear to be an astonishing development. Only about five years ago, when museum directors and curators were grappling with the possible dangers of reproducing their collections on CD- ROMs and other digital products, it was thought that museums might soon become obsolete.
Now those fears seem quaint. Whether simply responding to the needs of growing audiences and collections or boldly envisioning new buildings as cultural centerpieces of urban revitalization schemes, museum boards of directors are increasingly commissioning internationally renowned architects to design adventurous projects and launching ambitious capital campaigns to fund them. Encouraged by the robust economy and inspired, in part, by the international excitement surrounding the recent openings of architect Frank Gehry's masterpiece, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, and the Richard Meier- designed Getty Center in Los Angeles, big physical changes are taking place in dozens of American art museums.
Leading the pack in terms of budget and visibility, the Museum of Modern Art in New York is raising $650 million to dramatically expand its facility and increase the museum's endowment. The project is scheduled to open in 2004, the museum's 75th anniversary.
This is not a new phenomenon. Indeed, there has been so much growth in American museums in the past several decades that some observers say the current boom is not a phenomenon at all.
``Art museum collections almost invariably expand, so there's a fairly constant impulse to find more and more space,'' said Stephen Weil, emeritus senior scholar at the Smithsonian Institution's Center for Museum Studies. ``And as each generation of leadership comes into a museum, one of the ways it proves itself is by building something.'' Weil has a point. Six hundred museums -- including an unspecified number of art museums -- have been built in the United States since 1970, according to Museum News, a magazine published by the American Association of Museums.
But even if the current rash of construction and renovation is merely business as usual, business is booming. And there's no sign of a slowdown. The American Association of Museums estimates that 150 museums will be constructed or expanded during the next couple of years, at a cost of some $4.3 billion. No one knows how many of those projects are art museums, but educated guesses put the figure at 50 or 60.
In San Francisco alone, four major projects are on the drawing boards. The M.H. de Young Memorial Museum recently unveiled Swiss architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron's design to replace the earthquake-damaged building in Golden Gate Park. The Asian Art Museum is preparing to move from the park to the old Main Library, but only after a major renovation to that building. The Mexican Museum is expected to break ground next spring for a building designed by Mexican architect Ricardo Legoretta. Finally, the Jewish Museum will unveil American architect Daniel Libeskind's design for its new building early next year.
Among other major projects across the country, the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, the Davenport Museum of Art in Iowa and the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., are planning new buildings. The Milwaukee Art Museum, the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Portland Art Museum in Oregon and the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City are building grand additions.
Amid all the activity, it can be difficult to see the big picture of America's art museums in a historical context. But longtime observers cite several profound developments that have either contributed to the boom or evolved with it.
``I think we have a higher level of consciousness, among more people, that building museums is a positive expression of identity,'' said Selma Holo, who directs the University of Southern California's art gallery and museum studies program. ``In the past, museums popped up as the visionary ideas of a few people, but now it doesn't take much to convince a broad spectrum of people that having a museum is almost an essential part of describing who we are.'' As to how and why the public stature of American museums has risen, Holo speculated that a continuing parade of blockbuster exhibitions, community outreach programs and press coverage have played a part. In addition, she noted, museums have become plum commissions for architects, who are likely to be recognized as artists themselves.

From: Linda Ellsworth ccaha@ccaha.org
Subject:

Workshop on disasters

CCAHA disaster mitigation workshop series

The Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts (CCAHA) is offering three emergency preparedness workshops that focus on mitigation strategies. The workshops are designed to help institutions reduce the possibility of disaster and prevent, or limit, potential damage to collections.
The workshops are made possible through the generous funding of The William Penn Foundation and they are co-sponsored by: Heritage Investment Program, Tri-State Coalition of Historic Places, Delaware Valley Archivists Group, Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries, the Museum Council of Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley, and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.
The workshops are intended for staff who are involved in collections care activities or have responsibility for the safety of collections such as librarians, archivists, curators, collections managers, stewards of historic house museums, site and facilities managers, and security and safety staff.
All of the workshops will be held at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA.

Be Prepared... Conducting a Vulnerability Assessment

Tuesday, October 19, 1999
Registration Deadline: October 8
In this workshop, participants will learn how to conduct a vulnerability analysis and risk assessment so that they will be able to evaluate the types of emergencies that might affect their institution and its collections. This evaluation will help the institution develop effective strategies to minimize the likelihood of a disaster. A crisis communications expert will also address public relations strategies for emergency situations.
Speakers:
David Tremain
Conservator

Canadian Conservation Institute

Pat Moore
Vice President
Business Continuity Education, Strohl Systems

Michael Smith
Assistant Professor
Department of Communication, LaSalle University

Be Prepared... Fire Protection and Suppression

Thursday, November 4, 1999
Registration Deadline: October 25
Critical to the selection of an appropriate fire protection and suppression system is the assessment and analysis of the hazards and risks faced by a collection. This workshop will focus on the need to review current fire protection procedures and systems in historic and cultural institutions. The goal of the workshop will be to equip participants with up-to-date information to make informed decisions on fire prevention.
Speakers:
Nicholas Artim
Director
Fire Safety Network

John M. Watts, Jr.
Director
Fire Safety Institute

Be Prepared... Assessing Health and Safety Risks

Thursday, December 2, 1999
Registration Deadline: November 19
This workshop will alert participants to the health and safety risks present at the time of an emergency, including air quality, fire safety, electrical hazards, structural instability, chemical and biological hazards (mold, pests, lead, asbestos, contaminated water and soil), pests, and those hazards inherent in collections themselves (arsenic, formaldehyde). The workshop will also address an institution's legal obligations to staff and visitors in regard to health and safety, and the psychological stresses faced by those in an emergency situation.
Speakers:
Monona Rossol
President
Arts, Crafts, and Theater Safety, Inc. (ACTS)

Charles Cook
Public Health Advisor
Emergency Service and Disaster Relief Branch of the Center for Mental Health Services
All three workshops will be held at the Pennsylvania Academy
of the Fine Arts, Hamilton Auditorium, 118 North Broad
Street, (Broad & Cherry Streets), Philadelphia, PA 19102

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