Museum Security and Conservation of Museum Collections

The topic of security is a very broad theme in terms of what kinds of securities institutions put in place to keep their property safe and secure. When people think about museum security the first questions that may come to mind are "how many security guards does the museum have," or "what happens if there is a theft?" What most people don't know is that there is far more details regarding the security of a museum. Most museums have policies and precautions that are put in place for when a theft takes place. Throughout time the evolution of security within museums has progressed and developed. When museums first started to develop there was very little education in terms of educating and providing a dependable security systems. However, as time progressed and the art world expanded security more precautions were put in place in order to protect the works of art.

The first case study that I will be researching is the Isabella Stewart Gardner art heist of 1990. What happened at the I.S.G was two thieves dressed as police officers were granted access to the museum. They continued to roam freely throughout the museum and in total stole thirteen irreplaceable works of art from the institution. Many of those works included artwork by masters such as Rembrandt, Manet and Degas. This case was highly noticed by the public eye and was a detrimental hit to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. However, due to the intrusion the Isabella Stewart Gardner became more noticed by the public which was excellent for the museum. With this case study I will be focusing on how the thieves were able to pull of such a large art heist as well as how the I.S.G Museum reacted to the theft.

The next case study that I am investigating is the art theft that happened at Wheaton in 1992. A twenty eight year old man was accused of stealing five irreplaceable pieces of work from Wheaton College's Watson Art Gallery. The man then tried to sell he works to a local antique dealer in East Bridgewater for $400. The stolen works were; a sixteenth century Persian Moorish strongbox, a Tibetan handwoven fabric and parchment, a fifteenth century maroon Gothic Ferronnerie from Florence, an eighteenth century Spanish Regency chasuble, and a green metal brocade that dates back to Louis XV, France. Thankfully, the local antique dealer found the sale to be suspicions due to the incredible value of the items. The dealer notified the police and traced the items back to Wheaton. The value of these works were said to be worth a few million dollars. Along with the theft of 1992 there was yet another theft that took place in 1969. In September of 1969 a small piece called "L'Etoile" by Jean Arp was stolen out of Watson. Unlike the first theft that happened in 1992 there is little evidence on to who stole the Jean Arp piece. With these case studies that took place at Wheaton I hope to dig deeper into how Wheaton reacted and what (if any) security measures that have been put in place since.

Another case study that I would like to look into more is the Rotterdam Art heist that happened in 2012. Two unidentified thieves broke into the Rotterdam Kunsthal Museum through the back emergency exit door. Total, the thieves stole seven works by Picasso, Matisse and Monet which valued over $100 million. Prior to the theft the thieves spent months planning and targeting the objects they knew they wanted to steal. As well as examining the security within the museum itself. The Rotterdam heist was seen as "the heist of the century" by authorities and the public who were amazed by the thieves efficiency and speed while stealing the valuable pieces of work. The thieves said that the theft was”too easy” and that "they were shocked that a museum would have so little security on their priceless pieces of art"

Along with researching these case studies I also am looking into how museums maintain their collections. I specifically would like to look at Peggy Guggenheim's Collection in Venice. Her collections consists of many famous contemporary artists like Picasso, Braque, Salvador Dali and more. Her collection is highly regulated and there are specific contracts that were put in place. Along with the contracts Peggy's will states that her collection can never be broken up or pieces cannot be sold. Her collection has travelled to various museums around the world and people marvel over her impressive collection and how well she has conserved it. Through intensive research about these case studies I have found that security within institutions are an ongoing struggle and has room to improve. Many museums tend to spend the least on their security budget and more on education and acquiring pieces and collections. I believe that museums should educate their security staff so they are able to talk about the art and be able to interact with the viewers. Combining both security and education would cut costs for the institution as a whole and would allow the security staff to participate in the educational side of the museum.

Bibliography:

Davidson, Jacob. "Art Thief May Sue Museum for Making Robbery Too Easy." Time. Time, 23 Oct. 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.

Wallis, David. "Varied Duties, and Many Facets, in a Guard's Life." The New York Times. The New York Times, 20 Mar. 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.

Caesar, Ed. "What Is the Value of Stolen Art?" The New York Times. The New York Times, 16 Nov. 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.

Bucharest, Associated Press in. "Dutch Art Heist Paintings May Have Been Burned by Suspect's Mother." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 17 July 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.

The Legal Guide for Museum Professionals / Edited by Julia Courtney | Collections Search Center, Smithsonian Institution. N.p., 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.

Wittman, Robert K. "Security Lessons." Onlinedigeditions.com. Museum News (American Association of Museums), 13 Feb. 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.