COLLECTION INVENTORY
374 Pieces Digitized to Date
February 14, 2025 - In 2024, the Arts and Crafts Association of Meriden applied for and was awarded a Collections Assessment Grant. These grants are part of a program of Conservation ConneCTion and are funded through a partnership grant between Connecticut Humanities and the Connecticut Heritage Foundation of the Connecticut State Library.
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The grant made possible a site visit by Collections Assessor Karen DePauw on May 7, 2024. Ms. DePauw, who has conducted dozens of site visits as a field services provider for the grant program, currently serves as director of the Sharon Historical Society and Museum.
One of the recommendations made in the site visit report was that ACAM conduct a full inventory of the collection. Ms. DePauw noted that information about approximately one-third of the collection was contained on index cards created by earlier volunteers. |
Gallery 53 volunteers Janet Gawlak and Alison Green are working to create a comprehensive history of the gallery's art collection.
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Gallery 53 volunteers Janet Gawlak and Alison Green began the inventory of the artwork stored in the basement of Gallery 53 in late May. Fortunately, earlier volunteers had installed art storage racks and sorted the works alphabetically by artist. There were also small photos of some of the works that had been taken in connection with auction sales, and Janet and Alison clipped dozens of these photos and attached them to the cards.
After 10 months of work, Janet and Alison have devised the following steps to inventory each artwork:
After 10 months of work, Janet and Alison have devised the following steps to inventory each artwork:
- Janet and Alison check to see if there is already an index card for the work. On the original cards, the artist’s name appears first, followed by the name of the work, the medium used (oil, watercolor, etc.), whether the work is framed or unframed, the size of the work, and other information such as who donated the work. Janet and Alison have added two new items to the cards: the date a digital photograph was taken and when the work was added to the computer folder for each set of photos. (The folders on the computer are organized by the date the photo was taken.)
- If there is no card, a new one is made containing the above information. If the work is unsigned, and there is no way to identify the artist, the card heading is “Unknown,” and Janet and Alison create a title or description and then list the rest of the necessary information.
Janet and Alison check to see if there is already an index card for the work. On the original cards, the artist’s name appears first, followed by the name of the work, the medium used (oil, watercolor, etc.), whether the work is framed or unframed, the size of the work, and other information such as who donated the work. Janet and Alison have added two new items to the cards: the date a digital photograph was taken and when the work was added to the computer folder for each set of photos. (The folders on the computer are organized by the date the photo was taken.)
If there is no card, a new one is made containing the above information. If the work is unsigned, and there is no way to identify the artist, the card heading is “Unknown,” and Janet and Alison create a title or description and then list the rest of the necessary information.
To date, there are 374 digital photographs labelled with the artist’s name and title of the artwork, with more work to be done. After photos and index cards for all of the artworks have been created, the goal is to utilize a collections software program so that all of the photographs and the information currently on the index cards will be available electronically.
If there is no card, a new one is made containing the above information. If the work is unsigned, and there is no way to identify the artist, the card heading is “Unknown,” and Janet and Alison create a title or description and then list the rest of the necessary information.
To date, there are 374 digital photographs labelled with the artist’s name and title of the artwork, with more work to be done. After photos and index cards for all of the artworks have been created, the goal is to utilize a collections software program so that all of the photographs and the information currently on the index cards will be available electronically.
