Caring for your new Painting – Or How to keep a painting around for 500 years (at least)!

By Dena Tollefson
http://www.denatollefson.com/


Congratulations! You have a new painting. Now – how do you care for it so future generations will enjoy it?

Here are some top Do’s and Don’ts for taking care of your painting. The good news is that paintings are very easy to care for- much easier than caring for a houseplant. All you need to provide is a good location and an occasional light and gentle dusting. That’s it!

Check out the article below from The National Gallery of Art in the UK. The conservators there cleaned the painting “Margaret, the Artist’s Wife” which was painted by Jan van Eyck in 1439. Someone kept good care of that painting for over 500 years!

http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/research/the-restoration-of-margaret-the-artists-wife/the-cleaning-of-the-painting


Painting care DO’s

Do hang your painting in a room away from drafts and areas which experience other large temperature fluctuations.
Do use sturdy hardware to secure your painting to the wall to avoid having it fall off and hurt your pets, your children, your toes. (Painting which survives a fall to the floor may likely require professional restorative work)
Do hang painting in a dry environment, avoiding damp or very humid areas which can harbor mold growth.
Do clean your painting with a clean cotton cloth or feather duster reserved just for cleaning your painting. Avoid disturbing the surface of the painting. Be very gentle. Another option is to use canned air (similar to type used to clean computer keyboards) held at a distance of at least 12”to gently blow dust from painting. Avoid touching or rubbing the surface of the painting. Those that are fans of Antiques Roadshow know that experts advise to keep valuables in an untouched, original condition as much as possible. It is a mistake to overclean.

Here’s some advice from the experts at Antique’s Roadshow
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/search_results.html?q=cleaning+art



Painting care DON’Ts
Don’t hang your painting in direct sunlight as it can cause fading damage to fragile works such as watercolor paintings, drawings and other works on paper. Oil paintings can tolerate more light, but it is always best to keep all painting out of direct sunlight.
Don’t hang painting over a radiator or close to a fireplace opening, as the heat is hard on the painting.
Don’t try to fix a tear or hole in your painting. This is best left to a professional conservator.
Don’t use any liquids or cleaning product on your painting or frames. Never. Chemicals can interact with the painting and damage it. Cleaning product can migrate from frames over to the art.

So, that’s it! Hang your painting and enjoy.

Here are a few more sources to learn more:
http://www.preservation.gc.ca/howto/articles/painting_e.asp

http://parents.berkeley.edu/recommend/services/restorepainting.html