Museum Minute

What's a Courier?

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Have you ever heard the word “courier” in connection with the art world? What exactly is this special museum job?

Couriers oversee the transport of art from a lending institution to a borrowing institution. They travel with a custom-made crate containing a work of art, sometimes by truck and sometimes by plane. They’re responsible for staying with that work of art whenever they can and ensuring that it arrives damage-free to its destination, which might mean hanging out with it as airport personnel get ready to move the crate into a cargo hold. They spend a lot of time waiting!