Our latest blog comes from Emily, our Fergusson Collection Assistant. In this post she tells us how her project work, Digitising the JD Fergusson Archive has been progressing.
My name is Emily, and I am the Fergusson Collection Assistant for Perth Museum & Perth Art Gallery. Since February, I have been digitising the JD Fergusson Archive – currently housed at the Fergusson Gallery – before it is moved to its new permanent home in the collections stores.
With researchers from around the world showing interest in Fergusson’s life and work, digitisation becomes a great way to improve public access to the archive, while protecting it from the damage that can occur over time through constant handling.
The digitisation process involves photographing each individual item and editing it (cropping it neatly and making sure it is clear and legible), before uploading it to our collections database, Axiell.
The sketchbooks and exhibition catalogues in the archive involve a slightly different process as I use Flowpaper software to turn them into digital flipbooks which are then also added to the database.
Working with the personal correspondence and photographs of Fergusson and his associates has been a very enlightening process. With my background in history, I’m always keen to uncover the stories behind collections, and working with an archive dedicated to an individual artist has given me a unique insight into Fergusson’s world.
Whether it’s letters bemoaning how the Second World War had corrupted their beloved Paris, the creative tensions and disputes within his circle of friends, or photographs of Fergusson with his partner Margaret Morris in their Antibes escape, the archive paints a vivid picture of the artist and the relationships which shaped his life.
At this stage of the project, the digitisation of the archive is coming to completion and can be accessed on our new public version of the collections database. Be sure to explore the JD Fergusson Archive and the plethora of stories which continue to inspire people today.