How to Create a Condition Record for Your Artwork

A collector’s condition record is a dated baseline, not a diagnosis or guarantee. Its value comes from consistency: it helps compare arrival with later states, communicate with a conservator or insurer, and distinguish pre-existing features from new change. Describe what you can observe and label uncertainty.

Use diffuse, even light, a neutral background, stable camera position, scale or ruler where useful, and a file-naming system tied to the object record. Photograph the full front and back, edges, corners, signature, labels, frame, glazing, mounting, hardware, and any feature that may change.

Note location, size, shape, color, and appearance of scratches, abrasions, cracks, tears, stains, distortions, loose elements, flaking, accretions, fading, corrosion, insect activity, frame separation, or glazing damage. Avoid terms such as mold, active flaking, or overpaint unless qualified to identify them; write ‘suspected’ and seek advice.

Include date, observer, current location, display or storage method, recent transport, frame or mount, and relevant event such as delivery, loan, installation, leak, impact, or renovation. Link the record to pre-shipment images and any professional report.

If you see lifting paint, active cracking, dampness, pests, powdering, tears under tension, unstable mounts, or rapid change, reduce handling and contact a qualified conservator. Do not clean, press, tape, glue, or coat the work simply to improve photographs.

• Dated overall and detail photographs
• Neutral, location-specific observations
• Front, reverse, frame, mount, and hardware covered
• Context and recent movement recorded
• Professional advice sought for instability or uncertainty

Create the baseline at acquisition and update it after transport, reframing, conservation, loan, damage, or a meaningful visual change. A short consistent record is more useful than an elaborate report you never repeat.