The National Gallery of Art lends hundreds of works of art each year for exhibitions at museums and galleries around the country and the world. For most of these trips a courier from the Gallery accompanies the art to and from the borrowing museum to monitor the safety of the works during travel and the installation, deinstallation, and packing. The objects conservation department has a policy that all sculptures and decorative arts must have an objects conservator as the courier, unless special approval is given to another well qualified employee. The reasoning for this policy is that most sculptures and objects, because of their often irregular shapes and inherent fragility, require an individual who is familiar with the varied materials and their vices.

A conservator will examine the artwork before travel and prepare a condition report that will travel with the art. If the courier is not the same person who prepares the report, he or she must be advised by the conservator about the work's condition and any vulnerabilities to check when the art is unpacked. The outgoing courier, who brings the the art to the borrowing museum, should be present when the art is packed to be aware of its position in the crate. Once at the borrowing institution the courier examines the artwork for any changes in condition before installation and at the end of the exhibition, after deinstallation before packing. Finally, when the artwork is returned from loan, a conservator examines the artwork after it is unpacked to ensure there is no change in condition.

I completed multiple courier trips while working at the National Gallery of Art, both domestic and international. Two of my first courier trips are highlighted here. I traveled to the Bruce Museum of Arts and Science in Connecticut to oversee the unpacking and installation of Alexander Calder's Horse and two of his etchings for and exhibit entitled 'Alexander Calder as Printmaker.' I also wrote the pre-travel condition report for Horse and checked it back into the Gallery after its return.

​Another trip I completed was to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for an exhibit titled 'The Art of Illumination: The Belles Heures of Jean de France, Duc de Berry.' I couriered  a French 15th century Morse with the Trinity and a panel painting to and from the museum. 

In addition to the courier trips I went on, I also wrote multiple additional pre-travel condition reports for objects being lent for exhibitions and checked objects back into the Gallery after they returned from loan.