Batting in backs of framed paintings

Sara Rowe Hignite <sara_hignite [at] aismail__wustl__edu> writes

>Our preparator has been inserting batting into the backs of framed
>paintings--she was told by a conservator that it was necessary to do
>this for paintings that travel. From what I understand the intention
>is to support the canvas so that it doesn't "flap," so to speak,
>when it's being transported.
>
>Have any of you encountered this? Do you advocate this practice? ...

Further to John Gayer's comments, I would refer readers to an
excellent article by Marion Barclay, then chief conservator at the
National Gallery of Canada, which was published in the 1993 ICOM CC
Preprints (Washington, D.C.). The article is entitled "Some
Structural Solutions to the Question of Preventive Conservation Care
for a Major Travelling Exhibition..." (pp. 225-230).

Among several suggestions, Barclay informs how polyester batting
inserts, securely attached to the painting's backing board, may be
used for filling the voids between stretcher bars, thereby
eliminating the "flapping" of the canvas during transport.  At the
Centre de Conservation, we often use this technique for large
paintings or for paintings with thick and/or fragile paint layers.

Michael O'Malley
Centre de Conservation du Quebec


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 19:4
                  Distributed: Wednesday, July 6, 2005
                        Message Id: cdl-19-4-007
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