Insights

Last week marked the three-month anniversary of the Louvre Museum robbery; arguably the most notorious art heist of the 21st-century. A daring crime that was first and foremost in the news cycle for nearly two weeks was quickly replaced by more current events. Three months later the Louvre heist merits…

Complacency, underfunded security, and misplaced trust have left the world’s collections more vulnerable than ever. The recent thefts from the Louvre should shake every museum director and curator to their core. Prestige does not equal protection. A world-renowned name will not stop a determined thief. The world watched priceless works…

Inventory controls – what is in your collection, where it is located, and who is responsible for maintaining that information – is perhaps the most important aspect of collections management. According to the AAM Code of Ethics for Museums, U.S. museums are organized as public trusts with the responsibility to…

Provenance. It’s a lofty term you’ll often hear bandied about in the art world. Simply put, it’s the record of ownership of a work of art, from its creation by the artist’s hand to the present day. Think of it as a chain of custody for the art world. For…

In recent years, there’s been a notable and promising trend of voluntary cultural property repatriations by museums, particularly in the United States. This isn’t primarily about Nazi-looted art or Native American human remains and other cultural items, which are separate categories. These cases rather focus on antiquities and other artifacts…

There’s no question that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already having an impact on securing art collections, and museums of all sizes must devote time to exploring the technologies already on the market. Today, even medium-sized museums often have well over one hundred cameras in operation. Obviously, it’s impossible to monitor…