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ART CHAIN INDIA

THE REVIEW CHAIN︎


A democratic peer-support movement for visual artists in India working with all media.


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CONDITION REPORT



What is a condition report?

A condition report is a document used to record the condition of an artwork at a given time, especially before instances of movement and storage.


Why do you need a condition report?

A condition report, once signed by an authorised party becomes a record of the artwork’s state at a given point in time. It should ideally be produced before any instances of movement and or storage so that any damage during movement/storage can be accounted to the relevant insurances/parties involved.


It will also act as an internal record should you want to keep the work in storage and want a record of the nature of damage if any at a later date.


How to use the condition report template?

The condition report should be extensive and descriptive about the nature of damages if any and should also mention clearly any damages, or surface textures that may be perceived as damages, inherent to the nature of the work if not considered obvious.


It's imperative that one takes images to substantiate the notes made on the condition report as well, both close-ups and wide.

Here is a template for a Condition Report :

Click on the image below to download the template.



Alternative resources:

For Museums, but can be applied to individual artists works as well:

https://www.canada.ca/en/conservation-institute/services/conservation-preservation-publications/canadian-conservation-institute-notes/condition-reporting-paintings-introduction.html


A collection of alternate formats:

http://open-world.ch/CIDOC/SummerSchool/PDF/Sample%20condition%20reports.pdf


Smithsonian’s Condition Report format for Time-Based and Digital Art

https://www.si.edu/tbma/resource/condition-report-template


This is also a great introductory resource and also has templates and gives a glimpse as to how artworks should be handled as well:

https://www.joanmitchellfoundation.org/journal/creating-a-condition-report-for-artwork