In 2019, Berggren Architects and assessor Beverly Perkins performed a Collections Assessment for Preservation (CAP) for the Harry Jackson Institute in Cody, Wyoming. Harry Jackson was an artist and prominent member of the second generation of Abstract Expressionism, though he would later transition to realist painting. Much of Jackson’s work carries themes from the American West, a lifestyle he admired since he was a child. Jackson’s combination of multiple genres created a phenomenon known as contemporary Western art.

Our assessment took place shortly after the acquisition of over 5,000 works from the Harry Jackson Family Trust. These works include paintings of various media, works on paper, sketchbooks, film, slides, sculptures, and Jackson’s seminal Fort Pitt Mural, a piece which had to be flown in from Italy and stored in three separate crates. In our CAP report, we recommend the creation of an environmentally controlled room for the storage of fragile artifacts and the replacement of industrial lighting fixtures to LED.