A living map for things that matter

What happens to the things
we leave behind?

When someone dies, their belongings scatter like paintings to a friend, ceramics to a cousin, a favourite chair to a stranger at an estate sale. The things end up in basements, storage units, and living rooms across the country. Heirchive is a way to follow them, map them, and keep the story alive.

Stay in the loop →
Larry McKim in his studio

My dad, Larry McKim, was an artist. He passed in 2019 and left behind hundreds of paintings — scattered across people's homes or stuck in a storage unit. Art was his life. He just wanted his work to be seen. So I built a living map of where it all ended up.

It lets me see paintings I haven't seen in years, hear people's stories about them, and feel connected to the impact he had. Things just get lost in estates. This felt like a way to both track and engage with what's left behind meaningfully.

— Cooper McKim, Larry's son
✦
See it in action

Larry McKim's Art — A Living Map

221 belongings and counting. Click any pin to see where it ended up and hear the story behind it.

Larry McKim's Art — Map view
Larry McKim's Art — Lightbox with comments
Larry McKim's Art — Gallery view
New — The Feed

Follow the activity by using the Feed feature. It makes your archive feel alive by letting you know when new pieces are added, comments are left, or something is changing hands.

Larry McKim's Art — Living Map

Explore at larrymckim.art

How it works

Simple enough for anyone to use

1
Find it

Anyone who has a piece — whether it's a painting, a family quilt, or a piece of writing — can photograph it and pin it to the map. GPS reads automatically from your phone.

2
Remember it

Add how you got it, what it means to you, how long it's been in your life. Each object becomes a thread connecting people who loved the same person.

3
Keep it alive

The map grows as more people discover and add pieces. Nothing gets lost to a basement. Nothing disappears without a story attached to it.

4
Track the provenance

When a piece changes hands, the "journey" updates and you never forget where something ends up.

Who this is for

For the people left holding the pieces

Want one for your family?

For the people who care where it all ends up.

No spam. Just a note when we're ready.
Thank you — we'll be in touch.