Dusting artworks

Paul Benson <pbenson<-at->nelson-atkins<.>org> writes

>I am writing an Artwork Dusting Plan for my museum and would like to
>know how other institutions dust their works of art. ...

I am posting this response on behalf of my colleague, Graham Usher,
Furniture Conservator, National Museums Liverpool

We have a dedicated Object Dusting Team (ODT) consisting of two
people (three until quite recently) working 30 hours per week
between them.  Ideally, for our organisation there would be a larger
team and/or more hours of work.  They are line line-managed by
myself (Furniture Conservator) and have been trained by our various
conservation departments to dust objects on open display, props,
showcases and high level surfaces in our public venues.  They clean
inside showcases as well as outside, with objects removed.  They do
not dust object in showcases nor the very few unglazed paintings on
display.  The team has been trained to work at heights and to use
various lift machines, i.e. Genies, scaffold and stepladders, as
they need to reach areas up to 30 feet high.  For safety reasons
they must work together, as so much of their work is at heights.

We work on the principle of cleaning each of our eight venues in
turn, staying until all collection areas have been dusted.  A full
cycle takes about 18 months.  In each room the dusting starts at the
top, cleaning ledges, tops of showcases etc, and working downwards,
with a standard vacuum cleaner.  Once we get to the museum objects
we swap to museum vacuums and soft brushes, again starting with the
higher objects first, including picture frames.  Glazing is
carefully cleaned with a damp cloth and then a dry micro cloth to
buff.  Only water is used to dampen the cloths and nothing is
sprayed.  Furniture and marble is vacuumed and brushed.  Upholstery
and tapestries are gently vacuumed through netting.  When cleaning
inside a showcase curatorial staff are always present to oversee the
work and to help empty and then refill the case.  No object is
touched directly by the team unless the conservator has authorised
it.

An added benefit is that the ODT has picked up on many things
starting to deteriorate that would otherwise have gone unnoticed,
including building issues as well as museum objects, saving cost and
time.

We have made a clear distinction between this team and the general
housekeeping/cleaning personnel and we have laid down strict
guidelines on their remit.  For example, they do not work in the
museum cafe, dust ceilings or high light fittings or non-accessioned
paintings.  I would advise avoiding allocating this work to the
general cleaning operation for your museum, but keep it separate and
under the control of the conservators with input from the curators.

Tracey Seddon ACR
Senior Organics Conservator
National Museums Liverpool
Midland Railway Building
1 Peter Street
Liverpool L1 6BL
+44 151 478 4843


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 29:16
                 Distributed: Sunday, September 6, 2015
                       Message Id: cdl-29-16-005
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