By Emily Kosakowski, Registrar
As a registrar, part of my job is to oversee the movement of all items in the museum collection, both externally and internally. Over the last year and a half since the Clyfford Still Museum opened, I have often considered the journey that these artworks have taken from the time Mr. Still created them to the time they entered the Museum in October of 2011. I have imagined them crossing the country with Clyfford, some of them moving multiple times as he ventured from city to city before settling down in New Windsor, Maryland.
Now that Clyfford Still’s works have found a permanent home, it is our job as collections managers to rehouse everything using the latest museum standards and best practices. One of the most satisfying feelings has been to place a newly-matted pastel in its archival box and tuck it away where we know it will be safely kept and tracked. Similarly, the rolled paintings, which have had journeys of their own, are now safely sorted and stored in customized bins that have been built in our storage areas. They await our next important phase of inventory, examination, possible conservation and stretching.
Next time you are standing in front of one of the works in the Museum, consider the long journey that it has taken to Denver – it’s final home.
Archival Museum Case containing 10 pastels on paper.
Shelving in Research Lab for the works on paper collection.
Painting racks and roll storage.
Bins for rolled painting storage.