Item Provenance and Documentation Sheet
Record the history of a single item and where its paperwork lives, including the gaps, so the chain is not reconstructed from memory by somebody else later.
CV-02 2 pages
Collecting and valuables · CV-09
Art and Print Inventory
A free printable art inventory — artist, title, medium and size, edition number, whether it is framed, where it hangs and the provenance file reference.
Download Free · no sign-up
One page. Choose your paper size — both versions are laid out identically, so neither one gets shrunk to fit.
Print it and write on it
Fill it in type and save
The fillable versions have real form fields — open them in any PDF reader, type into them and save. Printing help.
What this sheet is for
List pictures with the details that identify them — medium, size, edition number — and record where each one hangs or is stored.
Who it is for
Private collectors, people furnishing a house with original work, and anyone listing the art in a property for a move, a valuation or an estate.
How to use it
- Copy the edition number exactly as it is marked on the work, including artist's proof markings.
- Measure the piece yourself and say whether the size is the image or the frame.
- Note whether it is framed and glazed, since that affects moving and storing it.
- Record where it hangs or is stored, room by room.
- Put the provenance file reference in the last column and keep the detail on the provenance sheet.
What is on the sheet
One page, top to bottom:
Printed under the title: Pictures itemised — artist, title, medium and size, edition number where there is one, whether it is framed, where it hangs and where its provenance file is.
Edition numbers, copied exactly. Prints in an edition need the edition number written exactly as it appears on the work, including any artist's proof marking. Where a piece has a provenance file, put its reference in the last column and keep the detail on the Item Provenance and Documentation Sheet rather than crowding it in here.
Write-on lines: Collection or property · Owner · Sheet
Table, 13 rows: Artist · Title · Medium · Size · Edition no. · Framed · Where hung · Prov. ref · Acquired
Questions
Why does the sheet not help me value a picture?
Because a valuation is one professional's opinion, on one date, in one market, and no form can supply it. This sheet records what the work is and where it is; the Collection Inventory and Valuation Record has space for a valuation and the name of whoever gave it.
Do I need a separate provenance sheet as well?
Only for pieces where the history matters. For those, the Item Provenance and Documentation Sheet holds the ownership chain and the paperwork, and this inventory just carries its file reference.
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