What is the role of art escorts?

For national or international temporary exhibitions, it is not uncommon for some lenders to have
their works accompanied by security escorts.

The escorts have the task of supervising the works transported at all times and ensuring that the
conditions of conservation and security are maintained throughout the journey. The security escort
participates in each stage of the project:

- Choosing the type of packaging, when the escort is also a curator or restorer of works of art
- Completing a preliminary condition report, before the work is packed
- Supervising the packing of the work in the packaging specially created for it (usually a custom
crate made by Transexpo's carpentry department)
- Loading the packed work into the Fine Art truck, stowing the crate in the vehicle, checking
the stowage points
- Transporting the work (in this case the security escort travels in the same plane as the work,
or travels with Transexpo drivers in the case of ground transportation. This is why Fine Art
vehicles are specially equipped with a third seat in the cab, allowing escorts to travel in
comfort).
- Inspecting secure parking areas during overnight stops for long road journeys in Europe
- Supervising the loading of the work into the air container for works transiting by air
- Unloading the work at its destination
- Unpacking the work in the rooms of the museum hosting the exhibition
- Completing the joint condition report on arrival, in the company of the host museums
restorers. The security escort ensures on this occasion that the work has not suffered during its packing and transport
- Installing the work at its exhibition venue
- Then all the above steps in reverse when the exhibition is dismantled and the works are
returned to their lenders

Security escorts are often mandated by museums and large foundations, but it is increasingly common for individual collectors to use them to ensure their work is not damaged during transportation and public display.
For lenders without sufficient internal resources, Transexpo can assign independent security escorts to supervise each stage of the transport and provide the work's owner with detailed reports.