I took a Van Gogh painting from Oklahoma to London | Norman, OK & London, England

I went to London with an older man. 132 years old to be exact. 

Recently I was the courier who took Vincent van Gogh's painting Portrait of Alexander Reid from Norman, Oklahoma, to London, England, for an exhibition at the Tate Britain. It was awesome!

Condition reporting the painting

In case you don't already know, I work as a registrar in a university art museum. It differs slightly in each museum, but generally registrars work behind the scenes taking care of art by doing all of the legal and logistical things such as tracking art movement, creating and updating condition reports, writing loan contracts, making shipping arrangements for exhibitions, etc. Also, every so often, registrars are couriers for high value artworks that go out on loan. 

Getting secured in the crate's travel frame

Being a courier is awesome; however, it is not glamorous. Actually, it's incredibly stressful. You are entrusted with an irreplaceable piece of art that is worth more than you will earn in a lifetime. The knowledge that you are the sole person responsible for making sure that the piece arrives safely, doesn't incur damage, and doesn't get stolen is constantly looming over you. 

All crated up and ready to hit the road!

Also, you have to hit the ground running as soon as the plane lands in whatever country is your final destination (no hotel room naps before work starts). You also have to work with people you haven't met before, know the painting like the back of your hand so you can tell if it sustained any damage during transit, and make decisions on very little sleep while your biological clock feels like it's 4 am and you typically go to bed at 9 pm (I go to bed early, trust me I'm a much more pleasant person if I get my usual 8-9 hours of sleep) all while being professional and polite. It's not for the light of heart, lol.

Truck is packed and we're ready to go!

But after you push past all of that, the painting is safely installed on the wall, and you have gotten some sleep you are reminded of how cool your job is and how blessed you are to do it.