The first registrar Mr. P. H. Reynolds was appointed in 1905 at the Metropolitan Museum, New York. And in the museums Bulletin, Vol. 2, No.4, and (April 1907) the earliest published job description for the postion of the registrar can be found. Since then the role of the registrar has not changed significantly. In spite of this, the size and complexity of the Museum's collections, combined with technological advances in the methods of record-keeping, packing, and shipping, and the increased pace of international art movement, have revolutionize the way the department carries out its tasks and operation. In a world of increased global awareness new challenges had to be met and issues of provenance, seizure and war restitution claims had to be managed. Registrars work closely with a wide range of museums professionals and external stakeholders and deliver complex acquisitions, loans, exhibitions and solve multifaceted collection management issues.
Photograph of museum professional in the London.
©Image Renée Pfister, 2016