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Shelley, Marjorie, with contributions by members of the curatorial and conservation departments of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (1987)
This title is out of print.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York houses one of the world's largest and most comprehensive collections of antiquities and works of art. Their preservation is a responsibility that involves everyone who serves the Museum and who has access to the collection. This handbook offers a practical guide to the ways in which different art objects should be handled and cared for, whether they are on display, in transit, or in storage; and it also explains some of the fundamental principles of conservation that underlie Museum practice.
The first part of the book sets out guidelines for dealing with the entire spectrum of works in the Metropolitan Museum: paintings, drawings and prints, textiles, costumes, musical instruments, and three-dimensional objects, whether monumental sculpture or filigree jewelry. In the second part the emphasis is on matters and procedures that affect the collection in general, such as climate controls, light levels, and photography. Included at the end are a selected glossary of conservation terms, a short reading list, and space for the reader's own notes.
Drawing on the professional experience of curators and conservators from many different departments, The Care and Handling of Art Objects has been put together primarily for those who work in the Metropolitan Museum. What it has to say, however, will be of great interest to others—private collectors large and small, museum visitors, and concerned members of the public.
ForewordPhilippe de Montebello
Preface and acknowledgments
Part I
1. Three-Dimensional ObjectsLarge ObjectsSculpture; FurnitureSmall and Medium-Size ObjectsObjects Composed of Vulnerable MaterialStorageAccidentsSummary
2. Musical InstrumentsSummary
3. PaintingsPaintings on Canvas and PanelPortrait MiniaturesSummary
4. Works on Paper and BooksWorks on PaperLighting, Climate, and Fumigation; Handling and Transport; Mounting; Matting and Interleaving; Framing and Glazing; UnframingBooksStacking and ShelvingSummary
5. Far Eastern Works of Art on Silk and PaperScrollsHanging Scrolls; HandscrollsFolding screensSummary
6. TextilesAtmosphere; Illumination; Storage and Handling; Insecticides TransportSummary
7. CostumesLighting, Temperature, and Humidity; Storage; Handling; TransportSummary
Part II
1. Lighting
2. Relative Humidity and Temperature
3. PhotographyGeneral Precautions; Filtering Light; Handling; Lighting; Environment; Photographers under Contract; Visitors to the Museum
4. Environment and the Deterioration of Art Objects
5. Museum LoansPre-Loan Checks; Loan Criteria; Conditions of Agreement; Loan Renewals; Couriers
6. Selected Glossary
7. Suggested Reading
Tables1. Illumination2. Relative Humidity (RH)3. Environmental Factors Contributing to the Deterioration of Art Objects
Marjorie Shelley, Conservator of Prints and Drawings, has been at the Museum since 1974. Her area of specialization includes all media on paper and related materials, and she has lectured and written on the conservation, treatment, and analysis of works of art in her field. Ms. Shelley holds an M.A. in art history and a diploma in conservation from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University.
Print Titles
Abramatis, Dorothy, Maryan W. Ainsworth, Katharine Baetjer, Lucy Belloli, Silvia Centeno, Charlotte Hale, Marsha Hill, Walter Liedtke, Dorothy Mahon, Marijn Manuels, Dianne Dwyer Modestini, Olga Raggio, Deborah Schorsch, Marjorie Shelley, M. Kirby Talley Jr., Thayer Tolles, and Frank Zuccari. Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 40 (2005). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005. See more
Alsteens, Stijn, and Freyda Spira, with contributions by Maryan W. Ainsworth, Dirk H. Breiding, George R. Goldner, Guido Messling, Marjorie Shelley, and Joshua P. Waterman. Dürer and Beyond: Central European Drawings, 1400–1700. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2012. See more
Amory, Dita with contributions by Philippe Cézanne, Ann Dumas, Charlotte Hale, Kathryn Kremnitzer, Marjorie Shelley, and Hilary Spurling. Madame Cézanne. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, November 17, 2014.
Angelicoussis, Elizabeth, Kevin J. Avery, Elizabeth E. Barker, Dirk H. Breiding, Paul Collins, Jean-Claude Ghislain, Daniëlle O. Kisluk-Grosheide, Elfreide R. Knauer, Raymond Lifchez, Constance McPhee, Paul F. Miller, Marjorie Shelley, and Perrin Stein. Metropolitan Museum of Art Journal, Vol. 44 (2009). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2009. See more
Avery, Kevin J., with an essay by Marjorie Shelley, contributions by Claire A. Conway, and catalogue entries by Kevin J. Avery, Carrie Rebora Barratt, Elliot Bostwick Davis, Tracie Felker, Stephanie L. Herdrich, and Karl Kusserow. American Drawings and Watercolors in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 1, A Catalogue of Works by Artists Born before 1835. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2002. See more
Baetjer, Katharine, with Marjorie Shelley, Charlotte Hale, and Cynthia Moyer. "Benjamin Franklin, Ambassador to France: Portraits by Joseph Siffred Duplessis": Metropolitan Museum Journal, v. 52 (2017). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2017. See more
Baetjer, Katherine, and Marjorie Shelley. "Pastel Portraits: Images of 18th-century Europe." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 68, no. 4 (Spring 2011). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011. See more
Baetjer, Katherine, and Marjorie Shelley. Pastel Portraits: Images of Eighteenth-Century Europe. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011. See more
Bolger, Doreen, ed., with Marjorie Shelley. American Pastels in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1989. See more
Dunn, Ashley E., with contributions by Colta Ives and Marjorie Shelley. Delacroix Drawings: The Karen B. Cohen Collection. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2018. See more
Herdrich, Stephanie L., and H. Barbara Weinberg, with Marjorie Shelley. American Drawings and Watercolors in The Metropolitan Museum of Art: John Singer Sargent. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. See more
Ives, Colta, Susan Alyson Stein, Sjraar van Heugten, and Marije Vellekoop, with Marjorie Shelley. Vincent van Gogh: The Drawings. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005. See more
Ives, Colta, and Susan Alyson Stein, with Charlotte Hale and Marjorie Shelley. The Lure of the Exotic: Gauguin in New York Collections. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2002. See more
Rebora, Carrie, Paul Staiti, Erica E. Hirshler, Theodore E. Stebbins Jr., and Carol Troyen, with contributions by Morrison H. Heckscher, Aileen Ribeiro, and Marjorie Shelley. John Singleton Copley in America. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1995. See more
Shelley, Marjorie, with contributions by members of the curatorial and conservation departments of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Care and Handling of Art Objects: Practices in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987. See more
Shelley, Marjorie. "'Splendid Mountain,' A Sketchbook by the Young John Singer Sargent." Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 28 (1993). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1993. See more
Shelley, Marjorie. "A Disputed Pastel Reclaimed for Degas: Two Dancers, Half-Length": Metropolitan Museum Journal, v. 51 (2016). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. See more
Shelley, Marjorie. "Joris Hoefnagel's Insects": Metropolitan Museum Journal, v. 55 (2020). Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2020. See more
Shelley, Marjorie. "Pastelists at Work: Two Portraits at the Metropolitan Museum by Maurice Quentin de La Tour and Jean Baptiste Perroneau." Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 40 (2005). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005. See more
Online Titles
Shelley, Marjorie, with contributions by members of the curatorial and conservation departments of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Care and Handling of Art Objects: Practices in The Metropolitan Museum of Art (2019 revised edition). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2019.