Guidelines for Descriptive Terminology for Works of Art on Paper

Paper conservators at the Philadelphia Museum of Art are nearing
completion of a project to study and develop new guidelines for
consistently describing materials used in works of art on paper. The
project goal is to enhance the ability of conservators to
communicate knowledge about materials and to provide allied museum
professionals with mutually understandable and meaningful language
for describing works of art on paper. It is anticipated that the
public also will reap benefits in the form of clearer, more
informative descriptions in catalogues, exhibition wall labels and
on the Web, leading to increased visual and information literacy on
the subject of artists' materials. The project was supported by a
21st Century Museum Professionals grant from the Institute of Museum
and Library Services.

Over the past two and a half years, working primarily with
conservators in other museum collections, we have engaged in regular
periods of discussion and review with the goal of producing a set of
guidelines and a system for entering materials information in
collections information systems. At the first BPG Art on Paper
Discussion Group (APDG) at the 2013 AIC meeting, project
conservators presented the Guidelines and attendees participated in
a series of exercises to test their viability. The project also was
presented at the 2013 meeting of the Print Council of America.
Presently, the Guidelines in their current (ever-evolving) form are
available for review on the Philadelphia Museum of Art website at

    <URL:http://www.philamuseum.org/conservation/22.html>

We welcome your feedback at mediaterminology<-a t->philamuseum< . >org

Nancy Ash
The Charles K. Williams, II, Senior Conservator of Works of Art on
    Paper
Philadelphia Museum of Art
PO Box 7646
Philadelphia PA 19101


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 28:1
                   Distributed: Friday, June 6, 2014
                        Message Id: cdl-28-1-004
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