Spit? Really? The Registrar said that?

Our Registrar, Barbara Lovejoy has a great job- she gets to touch the art and live with it every day.

Most museums only have 5 to 10% of the collection on view at at time. The rest stays in the storage area. She keeps track of over 4,500 works of art and makes sure that the vault is in excellent order and the conditions are perfect for art objects. She knows the collection, where everything is at all times, and makes sure everything is put back where it belongs if it is removed from the vault.

She oversees shipping and keeping the artwork and frames in good repair. She ensures that we keep the collection for posterity, protecting it from excessive heat, light , humidity as well as form pests and dust.
Here she is examining a new gift, a painting by Alvin Fisher entitled, "Roadside meeting." Notice she wears gloves to handle the work.

Need to clean a work of art? Sometimes conservators use spit! It's a mild enzyme solution that's readily available. More secrets next time.