The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto has a large mural hung on one wall in a
gallery which is "protected" by means of an alarm which goes off if a
visitor comes within two feet of the mural.  However, I can remember one
occasion when I was in grad school and w took a tour of this gallery.  Our
lecturer (an employee of the museum) managed to set off the alarm, and
wanting to 'fess up to the deed, we waited for a security guard to appear
so that we could assure him/her that no harm had come to the mural.  We
waited.... and waited... and waited.  Twenty minutes later, a guard ambled
into the room to reset the squawking alarm.

Another extremely intelligent (but none too bright) friend of mine insisted
on sticking her finger on several paintings in the National Gallery of
Canada, despite repeated remonstrations by security guards.  Her intentions
were not malicious; she just got so into the art she was seeing, she
reacted instinctively, rather than logically.

The moral of these stories is that even the best protection can provide no
protection at all if the visitors are really determined to get their hands
on your collection.

Alex Avdichuk
City of Toronto
Arts, Culture and Heritage Services
[log in to unmask]





To tack on an additional consideration, I'd appreciate suggestions on how
to
protect (clear coating?) a mural NOT hung high enough to avoid sticky
fingers.
Thanks