Have you been wondering how to store oil paintings?
If you need to temporarily store your original oil painting at some point, it is worth knowing a few little tips to prevent it from getting damaged or deteriorating during that time.
The idea is to keep the painting in a stable environment. This means at a steady temperature, and with nothing touching it that might cause changes. Paintings can be kept at home long as the place is dry and won’t get too cold, or too hot. Extreme temperatures that would leave to stretching and tightening of the canvas could make the paint crack.
Obviously, you don’t want the painting to get wet, so no leaks!
Some of the telescopic boxes I use-these were holding small paintings being sent out but they are also ideal for storage.
Wrap the painting as it comes, whether that be stretched on its wooden frame, or in its external frame. Use acid free paper as the layer that touches the painting. Then use a protective layer of bubble wrap or eco card wrap. I would then use a storage box to prevent damage from projectiles or accidental knocks and drops. You can get telescopic picture boxes which have two parts that fit together and overlap. The added benefit of these is they adjust to fit lots of sizes of painting. These are really good and I use them myself. I get mine from Kite Packaging, although they only make them up to 80cm. If you want a really sturdy box for a large scale oil painting, then I recommend Transartbox, these are very robust boxes lined with wood. I use these for transporting my sold artworks. . Alternatively you can place a sheet of plywood to eaither side of your painting which will give much better protection than card alone. Store your painting flat if possible and ideally off the floor. You can store your certificate of authenticy inside the final layer of packaging if you like, so that the documentation is right there when you need it.
I store many paintings at a time, and I rent an internal storage unit for this purpose, as the temperature is stable and I know the environment is dry and clean. My paintings are secure and my insurance company and I are both happy with this arrangement!
