Collection custodian
Who is a custodian and what do they do?
A custodian is the person responsible for the care of works in a collection or an exhibition, for handling them, installing them and keeping them safe. They make sure conditions in the space are ideal — the right temperature, humidity and light — because it is these that determine how a work ages. They work with conservators, monitor the condition of the objects in their charge and have a detailed knowledge of the materials works are made of.
What else does a custodian look after besides physical care?
Besides watching over the condition of works, the custodian also handles the cataloguing of collections — a proper record of what the institution owns. They register acquisitions, document the movement of works and know where any given object currently is. Not infrequently they also research the history of individual works and publish scholarly texts about them, making them something of a researcher and writer in one.
How does a custodian differ from a curator?
Although the words get confused, these are two distinct roles. The curator is the one who devises the concept of an exhibition, selects the works and gives them meaning and a story, while the custodian looks after their physical existence — their preservation, registration and safety. Put simply, the curator thinks about what to show the visitor and why, whereas the custodian makes sure it will still be in good order fifty years from now.
How does a custodian affect the preservation and value of a work?
The quality of care a custodian gives a work is written directly into its value. An object kept in stable conditions, properly documented and with a documented history is far more valuable to the market and to institutions than a work marked by poor storage. That is precisely why the custodian is a key figure in the long-term preservation of collection objects, and in the Czech Republic it is a strongly professionalised role.
Who cares for a work when a collector owns it?
In a broader sense, the custodian's role is often taken over on the collector's behalf by a club or another specialist institution. Art Part Club, for instance, catalogues the work, insures it and keeps it in a depository at constant temperature and humidity. And because the quality of that care affects the value of the work, it is not worth underestimating — whether the work is part of a large collection or hangs in a single living room.
— Anna Pulkertová, founder of Art Part Club