This work by Sophie Taeuber-Arp is very frequently requested by other museums for exhibitions. In fact, over the last five years it has been requested nine times, but the request was turned down on seven occasions. My name is Andreas Ehmann; I am the registrar at the Kunst Museum Winterthur and am responsible for all loan arrangements. This includes loan agreements, insurance and the organisation of transport.

There are several reasons why this work is not available for loan. It may be that we wish to display it ourselves as part of our collection presentation. It is also a very delicate work from a conservation point of view; we do not want it to travel too frequently. And sometimes the exhibition concept does not convince us either. We are very keen to display a high-calibre work ourselves as part of our collection. But the appeal of the loan system is that a work from our own collection is shown at a major exhibition, perhaps in a large museum in another city. This raises the profile of the work, or of the artist. The name of the lender – in this case, the Kunst Museum Winterthur – also gains wider recognition as a result. There is, in fact, another reason why the loan system is important to us, namely because we ourselves would also like to borrow works from other museums. By borrowing a work, a museum – and perhaps the artist as well – raises its profile.