Almost nobody sets out to build a collection. A painting arrives, then a print from a trip, then a sculpture someone couldn't walk past. Twenty years on there are receipts in one drawer, an appraisal in a different file, three works in storage that nobody can quite picture, and no single list of what's actually owned.
We help pull that together. It doesn't have to happen all at once, and it doesn't have to feel like an audit — we work through the collection at a pace that suits you and hand back something you can use.
A Clear Record of What You Own
We come to the house, the gallery, or the storage unit and go through the collection piece by piece. Each work is photographed, measured, and recorded: artist, title, date, medium, dimensions, and anything on the back that helps identify it later — a gallery label, an inscription, an edition number, a stretcher stamp.
We note where every piece currently hangs or sits, and we'll organize the invoices, receipts, provenance, appraisal and insurance paperwork you already have so those documents sit alongside the right artwork. Condition notes go in when you ask for them.
What you should end up with is a record that answers questions — not four hundred photographs with filenames nobody can decipher six months later.
RavenArt Vault
RavenArt Vault is our own collection-management system, built because the spreadsheets and photo folders we kept running into weren't holding up. It keeps artwork records, images, documents, and locations together in one organized place instead of scattered across a laptop, a phone, and a filing cabinet.
When it suits the collection, we use it to build and maintain your digital inventory. It isn't a product we're selling you, and it isn't right for every project — some collections are better served by a simple, well-organized set of images and documents. We'll say which we'd recommend and why.
More Than a Spreadsheet
A collection keeps moving after the first inventory is finished. Work is acquired, sold, loaned to an exhibition, sent to a framer, packed away for the season, or brought back out for a wall that has just been repainted. We update the record as those things happen, so it stays accurate rather than becoming a snapshot of one afternoon in 2026.
In practice, clients use it to:
- Find a specific work without walking every room
- Pull together information for an insurer, appraiser, or estate advisor
- Plan a move or a renovation and know what has to come down first
- Rotate art between display and storage without losing track of it
- Keep records consistent across more than one residence
- Give family members or trusted advisors a clear picture of the collection
We're art handlers, not appraisers, conservators, or attorneys. We don't set values, treat damage, or advise on insurance or estate law. What we can do is organize the records you already have and work alongside the professionals you bring in for that.
Storage, Transportation, and Installation
Documentation is usually the beginning of something physical. Once we know what's there, we can pack or soft-pack the work, collect and transport it, hold pieces in climate-controlled storage, and bring them back out for professional installation when you want them on the wall again.
Collection rotations, moves between homes, and works heading out to a project location are all handled by the same crew that built the inventory, which means the record gets updated as the art moves rather than weeks afterward.
Who This Is For
A collection doesn't need to be large or expensive to be worth documenting. Some matter because of what they cost; plenty more matter because of who bought them and when.
- Private collectors who've never had the whole collection written down in one place
- Families and estates sorting out what was left behind
- Seasonal homeowners with art in more than one residence
- Galleries tracking inventory as it moves in and out
- Interior designers documenting work placed on a project
- Property managers and household representatives responsible for the art on the walls
- Anyone preparing for a move or a renovation
- People who've inherited artwork and want to understand what they have
How It Works
Review the Collection
We talk through roughly how many works there are, what kinds, where they're kept, what records already exist, and what you want the inventory to do for you.
Photograph and Document
We work piece by piece: photographs, measurements, artist and title, labels and inscriptions, current location, and any paperwork you hand us.
Build the Inventory
The information is organized into a record you can actually use, with RavenArt Vault available when it's the right fit for the collection.
Keep It Current
As work is bought, sold, loaned, stored, moved between homes, or brought back out for display, we update the record so it stays true.
Serving the Wood River Valley
On-site collection management and inventory work throughout the valley. Projects further afield are considered case by case, depending on the collection, the location, and what the work involves.
Collection Management Questions
What information do you record for each artwork?
Photographs of the front, back, and any signature or label, plus artist, title, date, medium, and dimensions. We note inscriptions, gallery labels, edition numbers, frame details, and where the piece currently lives. If you want condition notes, we add those too, described plainly rather than in conservator's language.
Do I need to have my existing paperwork organized first?
No. Most people don't, and that's usually part of why they call. Hand us the folder, the drawer, or the shoebox, and we'll sort invoices, receipts, provenance, appraisal and insurance documents you already have and attach them to the right pieces.
Can you photograph and inventory artwork that is already in storage?
Yes. We can work in a storage facility, a garage, or a basement, unpacking and repacking as we go. It takes a little longer than working from the walls, but it's often where the least-documented pieces are hiding.
Is RavenArt Vault included with every collection-management project?
Not automatically. RavenArt Vault is our private system for keeping images, records, and documents together, and we use it when it fits the collection. Some clients want a straightforward document and image set instead. We talk it through and recommend what suits the size of the collection and what you need it for.
Can you help move, store or reinstall the collection after it is inventoried?
That's often the point of doing it. The same team can pack, transport, place work in climate-controlled storage, retrieve it later, and reinstall it — and the inventory gets updated as each piece moves.