When the bust of General Sam Houston was delivered to the US House of Representatives from the Sam Houston Museum in Huntsville in 2017, it was watched over every mile of the journey by the experts at ANR Transport.

“We built a custom crate, packed the bust on site, brought it to the House, uncrated it and installed it,” says ANR’s CEO/CFO Evelyn Wilcox. Part of the exacting process was writing a condition report and taking photographs to verify its condition from start to finish, and making sure the priceless work of art was fully insured with ANR’s fine art policy through Lloyds of London. “Of course,” she says, “all our drivers/art handlers are thoroughly familiar with these processes and are fully insured. We like to say we are the alpha-omega of fine art transport. We care about everything from start to finish.”

To start, ANR packs every object using the same methods used by museums. For items that need crates, the company builds all types of 100% plywood custom crates and uses Ethafoam, buckled cotton straps and blankets for oversize objects. Once at the destination, ANR teams will handle all types of installations, and is well versed in working with consultants, designers, curators, artists and other art professionals.

A Long History Caring for Fine Art 
ANR founder Andrew Wilcox began his 40-year career in art transport as a fine art handler in Boston and Dallas, moving quickly through the industry to become a dispatcher, transport coordinator, then general manager in Houston. In 2000 he and his wife, Evelyn, whose career had focused on business and education, opened ANR.

Today, the company and its long-term employees have more than 120 years of combined experience in art transport, and a fleet of two tractor trailers, four straight trucks and one van. Each is specially equipped for fine art transport, with climate control, air ride, alarm systems, GPS tracking, security cameras and lift gates.

ANR provides shuttle options for direct pickups and direct deliveries at no extra charge and has created a network of shuttle routes for transport throughout Texas and nationally. For international shipments, the company builds museum-quality crates, delivers to all airports and contracts with valued fine art vendors to coordinate pickup and customs details.

Specialized Storage for Art and Antiquities Collectors
For art and antiquities collectors who need specialized storage, ANR recently expanded its climate controlled storage from 3,500 to 17,000 square feet, with 13,000 square feet of climate-controlled storage that’s kept at 50% humidity and between 68 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. “The only other space like this in Houston is located at the Museum of Fine Arts,” Evelyn says. “We work closely with each client to develop an individual database utilizing inventory systems used in museums. One of our services includes doing photographs and a condition report for every object that comes into storage and following up with photographs and a condition report again when is taken out of storage.”

Constantly Educating About the Best Methodologies
Evelyn, who is a frequent speaker about fine art transportation at museum conferences, says, “We are constantly educating about the best methodologies. We do training and review with every project and our employees have become like family. They really know the business. I spent many years in education, caring for priceless children and the art world is no different. We are caring for priceless art. That’s what sets us apart.”

To learn more about ANR Transport, visit anrtransport.com