Storage of paintings

Melanie Martin <melanie [at] edunet__tc__columbia__edu> writes

>Our library has inherited a number of very large damaged oil
>paintings in heavy gilt frames ...
>...
>... I have been
>asked to wrap them to protect them from further damage. What is the
>recommended material for this? ...

Bubble wrap is good, unless storage conditions are excessively
hot--which, as a library, I am sure you will avoid (I have seen
several cases of the wrap sticking to painted/varnished surfaces).
The advantage of bubble wrap over cardboard is that it is less
permeable to water, in case of flooding or water leakage. It is
advisable to add extra protection to the frame corners first,
especially if they are protruding, or if the works will have to be
moved around at all. You can wrap the corners with bubble pak scraps
or inert foam or non-acidic corrugated cardboard. If the works have
to be vertically stacked, use separators between them, and don't
forget to label them clearly on the outside!


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 14:35
                Distributed: Thursday, December 21, 2000
                       Message Id: cdl-14-35-003
                                  ***