About the Museum
Curious about our organisation? Read more about our history, 
staff and sustainability goals.
Collection Care
Behind the scenes, we take good care of our collection. We document what we know, preserve the objects as carefully as possible, and make the collection accessible now and for the future.
Registration and documentation
The Centraal Museum’s collection, which comprises more than 70,000 objects, is fully documented in the Axiell Collections collection management system. Details such as the artist, materials and techniques, as well as bibliographic information and exhibition history, are kept as complete as possible, including for the hundreds of new acquisitions received each year. The entire collection is accessible online, with images available for more than 90% of the objects.
Management and conservation
Caring for a collection as extensive as that of the Centraal Museum requires constant attention. In recent years, several subcollections have been systematically catalogued, barcoded and stored under improved conditions. With much of the focus now on preparations for the upcoming relocation of the collection, conservation work is primarily centred on exhibition projects and loans.
De-collecting
Careful collection development is not only about acquiring objects, but equally about deaccessioning them. The museum also aims to prepare the collection as effectively as possible for the move to a new storage facility, ensuring that only objects the museum genuinely wishes to retain are relocated. Mindful of the costs of collection management and conservation, and with a growing awareness that focus contributes to quality, the museum is critically reviewing the collection and finding new homes for objects that no longer fit. In doing so, the museum follows the procedure prescribed by LAMO: guidelines for the deaccessioning of museum objects.