Purchase of Environmental Monitoring Equipment and Storage Supplies

FAIN: PG-50794-10

University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN 55455-2009)
Lyndel I. King (Project Director: May 2009 to December 2011)

Funding supports the purchase of equipment to monitor light in the galleries of the Weisman Art Museum and archival storage supplies for its works of art on paper. Half of the museum's diverse collection consists of works on paper, including prints, drawings, and photographs from such notable artists as Honoré Daumier, John James Audubon, Marc Chagall, Jacob Lawrence, and Alfred Stieglitz.

The Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota requests funding for the purchase of an Elsec 764 ultraviolet (UV) light meter for gallery and storage light monitoring, plus one fifteen-drawer archival flat file and Solander boxes to upgrade our current storage system for works of art on paper. These goals are based on recommendations made in an NEH subsidized survey performed in 2001, and they represent two main areas of concern: high light levels in the galleries and overcrowded and inadequate storage for works of art on paper. Purchases using funds provided by this grant will directly support the preservation of all our unique collections in two ways: by allowing us to monitor, record, and mitigate excessive light conditions, thus protecting them from excessive levels of visible and ultraviolet light; and by housing the works on paper collections in storage in archival, stable, and uncrowded storage units.