Messenger Art offers advisory services on all practical aspects of maintaining an art collection according to international standards for best museum practice. We also advise and manage the processes involved in selling individual works or dispersing whole collections. With over 15 years industry experience, we ensure our clients have access in-depth knowledge and the appropriate expertise from our network of service providers.
MANAGE
Collection Care
We consult on long term collection care and display, including conservation, framing, installation, lighting and storage solutions.
We complete collection cataloguing, including provenance research and condition reports.
We advise on insurance and security requirements.
We oversee the production and manage the installation of site-specific works.
“'Turner from the Tate', [co-curated by Jane Messenger], is an immensely thoughtful selection… the breadth of coverage is impressive. The basement galleries of the Art Gallery of South Australia have occasionally felt like a dungeon, but this show is beautifully installed.”
- John McDonald The Sydney Morning Herald 23 February 2013
We provide advanced cataloguing and inventory management solutions for private and corporate collections, centralising catalogue, provenance and art historical documentation.
We produce full catalogues for print or digital publication.
We provide authentication and attribution reports.
Inventory Management
“[Curated by Jane Messenger] 'Once Upon a Time' is one of the largest and most comprehensive exhibitions of Patricia Piccinini’s work to ever by staged.”
- Fiona Mackrell, ArtsHub, 20 April 2011
We work with families, estates and their professional advisors (solicitors, accountants, wealth managers and executors) in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and around Australia to assist with the intergenerational transfer or dispersal of collections.
We develop strategies for continued custodianship or de-acquisition, whether as donations to public institutions or as sales for the benefit of the heirs.
We appraise and value each work, assessing fair market value, art historical significance and personal meaning.
We work on our client’s behalf to realise optimal results, whether by sale though auction, intergenerational transfer or philanthropic gift donation.
We manage the processes involved in dispersing household collections, including decorative arts and furnishings.