Handling Art

Art is my passion. Collecting art is fun and fulfilling for me. I'm in it for the long haul, not just as decoration, so caring for art to make sure it will last my lifetime and beyond is a huge responsibility. Here are some tips I've picked up along the way on how to care for art:

HANDLING ART

When handling artwork, always try to use white art-handling cotton gloves. Never touch the surface of an unframed artwork without gloves; even clean hands leave a corrosive residue. To purchase art-handling gloves check your local art supply stores or click here.

Avoid damage to fragile edges and corners of artwork by padding the work during installation or hanging. Always use padding -- a blanket, bubble wrap, or foam -- when resting artwork on hard surfaces.

Never handle, move, or hang large works of art alone; you can easily damage the art. Or yourself. My foot broke the fall of a large photograph I was hanging alone once. I broke a toe. The art was spared.

When packing and storing artwork, always use stable, pH-neutral, archival materials. If you are unsure what that means, contact your local art store or framer and they will show you materials that fit these requirements.

This is a three-part post. Coming soon... Cleaning and Displaying tips.

Thank you Tanya and Ben for icons and wordsmithing!

Comments

[sean bonner]

Ah! One of Caryn's and my favorite topics. Be sure to ask her about the "other gallery" she worked at for a while where the hired cleaning people were caught seconds before spraying windex ONTO on painting.

[Zeke]

Howdy!

My favorite tip for the handling of art is that the bubbles in the bubble wrap should always be on the outside.

Although it is only CO2 inside the bubbles, it still can mess with stuff as it escapes through the plastic.

Play Ball!

[Marja-Leena]

There is a lot of a lack of understanding amongst buyers and even some framers about archivalness. When I sell an unframed print I try to give a mini-lesson on this issue and encourage using a reputable framer and requesting archival matting etc.

Thanks for this important article and look forward to the rest. I may link you and post on my site when you have them all up.

[Jan]

Thank you for sharing it. It is very useful. I love it.

[Lance]

Hello,
Regarding the section, on Handling artwork, your quote states, "When handling artwork, always try to use white art-handling cotton gloves."

The more true answer is, "It depends". For example, your average art owner/collector should not be generally touching the surface of an unvarnished, acrylic dispersion painting... but gently touching the surface of a varnished oil painting may be ok- what do you think conservators do? On reason NOT to wear gloves is that the cotton fabric can catch on edges of paint flakes, causing losses in the paint film. If you have a silver figure however, of course you'd use gloves!