Cleaning Art

If you are collecting paintings, photographs, framed drawings, and most sculpture made from a hard material - bronze, plastic, etc. - there are some basic rules to follow when cleaning your art. If the artwork is made out of something odd - chocolate, urine, blood, primordial ooze, etc. - make sure to contact the gallery from which you purchased it to learn about how to clean the work.

CLEANING ART

Avoid letting dust accumulate on artwork. When dusting your artwork, use a can of compressed air, or a very soft, non-abrasive, lint free cloth. Paper towels are a no-no because they can leave tiny scratches.

Use a plastic cleaner, not commercial glass cleaner, on Plexiglas. (I recommend Novus Plastic Clean & Shine). Apply the plastic cleaner with a soft non-abrasive cloth. NOTE: Spray the cleaning solution on the cloth, never directly onto glass or Plexiglas.

Keep artwork away from dogs, flying fish, cats, flying cats, ponies, potbellied pigs, ferrets, llamas, constricting snakes, lemurs, monkeys (flying or otherwise), and pretty much any and all animals exhibiting claws, feathers, hooves, fangs, bottomless curiosity, and/or opposable thumbs.

Thanks, again, to Tanya and Ben for all the creative juice they shared with me on this post!

Comments

[Christo]

hi,

we were just looking at your blog from south africa. great stuff. keep it up.

christo

[liz]

i have two paintings that are beyond my own abilities to clean, and i'm curious to know if you are familiar with any places who clean/restore artwork in the city (and deal with smaller, not particularly valuable works--no inpainting or anything like that needed). many thanks for your thoughts (and i very much enjoy your blog!)

[Paige]

Liz, I have never personally used a restorer (yet!) but this one was recomended by a friend: Pratzon Art Restoration, 122 West 26th St., 212-807-7066. Like I said, I haven't used them, so I can't personally recommend them. I have contacted a number of people (collectors, gallerists, etc.) to try to get more answers for you. I'll let you know what I hear.

PS - Thanks for the nice comments!

[Sunny Conley]

Wonderful suggestions and tips. Great site! Thank you!

[thebizofknowledge]

I stumbled across your blog while I was doing some online research. Thank you for this concise and very useful set of directions for those of us who enjoy art but don't necessarily know how to properly care for it!

[ann]

i work for a museum and it is my job to care for art. i saw that compressed air and cloths were recommended. i would discourage both- compressed air tends to release moisture which can damage work and i would recommend using a soft natural brush to clean paintings not a cloth. cloths can cause abrasions and damage the piece. always inspect the work to make sure there is no existing damage before cleaning.