Paintings

General storage and display guidelines

Careful consideration should be given to the storage site and the storage system. In situations where you are able to achieve the ideal conditions, a good storage system in an appropriate storage site will give added protection to your collection. If the available facilities or the local climate make it difficult for you to achieve the ideal conditions, the selection of the storage site and the maintenance of a good storage system will become even more critical in preventing damage to the collections.

Wherever possible the storage and display sites should be in a central area of the building, where they are buffered from the extremes of climatic fluctuations which can be experienced near external walls or in basements and attics. Basements should also be avoided because of the risk of flooding.

The storage site should not contain any water, drain or steam pipes, particularly at ceiling level. If these pipes were to leak, extensive damage could result.

The storage and display sites should be reasonably well ventilated. This will help reduce the risk of insect and mould infestation.

Inspect and clean storage and display areas regularly. Thorough and regular cleaning and vigilance will also greatly assist in the control of insects and mould.

Do not store paintings in sheds or directly on the floor.

Cover stored paintings with a Tyvek cover. These are easy to make for individual works, using a domestic sewing machine. They will protect the paintings and their frames from dust and insects. These covers will also help to protect the works from fluctuations in environmental conditions.

Always give paintings adequate support and try to reduce the physical stresses which can cause damage.

If you have a number of paintings which are to be stored for considerable periods, consider designing a specific storage area so the paintings can be hung securely for storage. A heavy-gauge wire grid can be used for this purpose. If considering building such a system, consult a conservator for further details.

If paintings are to be stored against walls, ensure that they are placed on padded blocks to take them off the floor level; and ensure that they are not near heavy traffic areas, because they could be damaged as people walk past them or if people drop things on them.

Design your display lighting so that the heat produced by the lights does not affect the paintings.

Heat associated with light can cause localised and differential environmental changes, and subsequent dimensional changes across the painting.

Always avoid direct sunlight on your paintings.

Storing unstretched paintings

Ideally, unstretched paintings should be stored flat. But many larger paintings are too large for flat storage in standard storage furniture. For the full protection of these larger paintings, rolled storage is recommended.

It is important to note that for the flat storage of unstretched paintings, the paintings should be kept on wide, flat shelves or in large flat drawers such as plan chest drawers.

The shelves or drawers should be larger than the paintings. This prevents distortion of the edges of the canvas.

Paintings can be stacked one on top of another, but paintings can be quite heavy and the ones on the bottom have to carry the weight of those on top. So be sure to limit the number of paintings per stack.

Stacked paintings should be interleaved with thin Protecta Foam sandwiched between acid-free tissue.

If possible place the paintings in a large storage box, 100–150mm deep.

When rolling paintings for storage, it is important to note that:

• paintings must be rolled painted side out, otherwise permanent damage which mars the appearance of the work can result;

• paintings should be properly interleaved and the roller properly padded;

• the roller should be as large as possible in diameter—at least 200mm.

Rollers can be specially made of lightweight materials, such as:

• Ribloc, with the ribs on the inside;

• PVC pipe. A 300mm diameter pipe is a good size for most works;

• if you are using a cardboard tube to roll a painting, pad it out to as large a diameter as possible.

Rollers should be covered with a layer of padding-either polyethylene foam such as Plastazote or Dacron wadding covered with clean, white cotton fabric-to compensate for any irregularities in the painting's thickness.

It is best to roll the painting with an interleaving layer of Tyvek, to prevent any transfer of pigment. The Tyvek should be larger in length and width than the painting. When rolled, the painting should be tied firmly, but not tightly, with cotton tape in several places along the roll.

If more than one painting is to be rolled on a roller, the paintings should be laid out flat and interleaved with Protecta Foam, as for flat storage. Once this is done, the paintings should be rolled onto the roller, all at the same time. Remember, all the paintings should be paint side out.