label Specialty
electric_bolt Fast Answer / Key Takeaways
- check_circleNever Let Bubble Wrap Touch Canvas: Synthetic plastics trap heat and humidity, transferring plastic bubbles directly into oil paint varnishes.
- check_circleArchival Glassine Paper Layer: Always sandwich artwork in acid-free, non-static glassine paper to ensure breathability and prevent sticking.
- check_circleVertical Book-Style Storage: Always stand framed art upright on raised wooden pallets; horizontal stacking crushes canvas weaves.
- check_circlePrecise Climate Regulation: Maintain 18–22°C temperature and 45–55% relative humidity in private storage rooms.
Even before Netflix’s original movie, Velvet Buzzsaw turned the world’s head to the niche world of art and art collection, collecting paintings and artwork has been a passion for many people the world over.
Whether modern or abstract, Renaissance or Cuban, all paintings begin and end with the human heart. All of them are fond of the emotive imagery and the feelings that the painting evokes.
And yet, a common area of ignorance for painting and art collectors is the storage of their precious artwork. A mistake many of them end up making is to wrap a painting in a newspaper and declare it ready for painting storage. This is a recipe for disaster and points to people’s lack of knowledge about the proper painting storage.
The biggest enemies of your artwork
The Conservation Register provides the following list about the biggest risks to your artwork:
- Breakages, tears, loose and missing elements, impacts, smudges.
- Fingerprints etched into polished surfaces.
- Stains and marks from skin contact, eating, smoking, cosmetics, and other domestic chemicals.
- Introduction of materials and conditions that encourage pests or other environmental damage: foods, other infested objects, inferior storage materials, central heating, damp, strong light.
As you can see if you store the painting the wrong way, you’ll reap a loss on your investment in no time. To offset this situation, here are a few tips on the right way to store your artwork, so its colors live and shine for long:
1. Clean before packing
Using a microfiber cloth, remove any dust. Then use wood polish or metal polish to avoid any rusting or scuffing. If unsure, contact a professional to have it properly cleaned.
Some oil paintings take up to a year to dry due to thick impasto passages or overall dense texture. Hence, if you are storing a recently purchased oil painting, make sure it’s dry.
| Art Medium | Critical Environmental Hazard | Archival Packaging Protocol | Storage Rack Positioning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oil on Canvas | Crazing, pigment cracking, varnish melting, mold bloom | Acid-free glassine → foam corner protectors → heavy bubble wrap exterior | Vertical rack, 50% RH, elevated 4 inches on wooden pallets |
| Watercolors & Pastels | UV photo-fading, paper yellowing, smudging | rag mat board backing, UV museum acrylic glass, acid-free envelope | Dark, light-shielded metal flat file or vertical picture carton |
| Acrylic & Mixed Media | Thermoplastic softening, sticking to contact plastics | Glassine paper wrap → rigid archival foam core sandwich | Upright vertical shelving; never place face-to-face |
| Heavy Ornate Gold Leaf Frames | Gesso flaking, wood warping, plaster chipping | Custom high-density foam edge bumpers → timber transit crate | Climate-controlled private storage room |
2. Do not store in places with varying temperatures
Since basements are a common go-to place for storage in India, most people will think of stacking their paintings against a wall down below.
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But, a painting should never be stored in a place that’s either too dry or damp. Choose a room that has a consistent temperature and moderate humidity.
3. Do not stack paintings on top of one another
In the name of space efficiency, do not keep paintings on top of one another. The weight of the frames can damage them. Get a rack to keep them off each other.
You can also use this rack to keep the paintings off the ground. Remember how they aren’t to be kept in damp conditions? If you keep them on the ground, they are likely to absorb dampness from the concrete and other materials.
Hence, get a rack.
4. Keep away from the sun
Sunlight can lead to the fading away of the colors. Hence, keep the painting covered with an acid-free cloth or preserve the packaging it came in and use it.
5. Consider self storage for painting storage
If you consider storing your paintings or artwork for extended periods, consider putting them in self storage. Not only will they be in a dedicated space where they are meant to be safeguarded, but they’ll come with a host of benefits that you can’t create for yourself at home. You can read up on some of the benefits here and book a unit in the same breath.
The artwork you bought is precious. Someone invested time, energy, effort, and their heart into creating it. Preserve it as well as you can so that whenever you take it out of storage and hang it up, it’ll beautify your home like it was painted just yesterday.
Frequently Asked Questions
Plastic bubble wrap traps moisture against oil and varnish coatings. In warm Indian climates, the plasticizers in the film can react with the varnish, embossing permanent circular honeycomb patterns into the paint film. Always wrap with acid-free glassine paper first.
Museum standards mandate relative humidity between 45% and 55% at 18–22°C. Relative humidity above 65% triggers catastrophic mould growth on cotton and linen canvas, while humidity below 40% causes wood stretchers to dry out and craze the paint layers.
Horizontal stacking places cumulative downward pressure on the canvas fibers of the bottom paintings, leading to sagging, stretcher marks, and cracked paint. Storing paintings vertically like books distributes weight evenly across their rigid frame perimeter.
