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What Records Should You Keep for Your Collection?
Keep one object record per artwork with identification, acquisition, ownership, condition, location, value, care, and image evidence. The record should remain usable even if a website or email account disappears.
Why this question is harder than it looks
A collector's archive supports insurance, estate planning, resale, loans, conservation, moves, and personal memory. It also prevents facts from becoming detached from the physical object.
A practical way to decide
- Save invoice, bill of sale, certificate, listing, and correspondence.
- Record artist, title, date, medium, support, dimensions, edition, signature, and inventory numbers.
- Keep clear front, reverse, detail, label, frame, and installed photographs.
- Add condition, treatment, framing, shipping, appraisal, insurance, loan, and location history.
- Back up records and tell a trusted person how to access them.
What this does not establish
Do not store sensitive personal and financial records in a public folder. Preserve source files as well as convenient summaries.
Next step
Check an artwork to organize public evidence about a specific listing. The tool provides research context, not authentication or appraisal.
Sources
- Art Appraisal ServicesInternal Revenue Service
- Collections CareLibrary of Congress