How to safeguard your art collection like nature, art requires conservation

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You just purchased your first piece of art or better still, you are a seasoned collector who just acquired more pieces to add to your collection. Whichever category you fall under, one thing to strongly consider is how you should safeguard your collection.

Like nature, art requires conservation. Being a collector requires that you take care of your collection to the best of your ability. Think about this; you are privileged to be in possession of pieces of history and you must preserve them for generations to come. That is a weighty responsibility if you think deeply about it. Utmost care is required of you. It is for this reason that I share below my expert advice on how to care for your collection to ensure the value they command is worth every penny.

Avoid direct sunlight
If you live in the tropics, you want to avoid placing your paintings in direct sunlight. Exposure to direct sunlight will cause your paintings to lose colour, fade, and crack overtime. If you live in a glass house, swap out the glass for acrylic plexiglass that blocks UV light so that it protects your art from fading.

Be mindful of placements
This quizzes everything you may know about art but there is an ideal indoor condition for indoor placements; temperatures between 21˚C – 24˚C and humidity levels between 45% – 55%. Knowing this, how and where you display your art matters. Every room will look good with art in it. However, art is sensitive. A room with heat or moisture does no good to any art piece. When exposed to drastic changes in temperature and humidity, art can wrap, curl, or crack and so it needs protection.

Do not place any artwork above a fireplace, neither in the kitchen, nor in a bathroom. Investing in a good humidifier will help to keep your rooms at a humidity level of ~55%.
You also want to be mindful of how you display your art pieces in areas with a high foot fall, or blind corners that are accident prone. As much as possible, display artworks in safe environments that have minimal foot fall and human manipulation.

Avoid touching with your bare hands
It is advisable to wear gloves when handling your pieces. This is because our hands could bear grease from foods, sweat from perhaps a hot day, or something else. The human body and most especially our hands are designed to produce natural oils that are good for keeping our skin moisturised and healthy, but terrible when in touch with art.
As tempting as it may seem, avoid installing your art pieces yourself. Hire a professional art installer to help you with this. This is something Patrons can help you with. You can send an inquiry email to [email protected].

Do not clean your art
Granted, dust and sometimes mould get the better of our collections. Your artwork is not a piece of furniture, neither is it a clothing apparel. Depending on the medium in question, it is often not advisable to use cleaning products to polish art especially paintings because they can be abrasive and you risk staining them. Cleaning products may also wear them away or cause the materials to decay, and worst case, permanently damage them.
If you must clean your artworks, do so every four to five months and when you do, lightly dust it with a soft and dry brush made of saber, badger, or similar hair.

Consider art storage facility when in transit
Whether you are undergoing a renovation, moving houses/office or even countries, or as often becomes the case, you outgrow your own space to display your artworks, it is advisable to store your art pieces in an offsite storage facility. Your collection of art is valuable and needs to be stored in a safe environment until a new display area is made available. However, when choosing a storage facility, you need to ensure that the construction of the facility is free of hazardous exposure and is well constructed. If you do not have such a place, consider outsourcing your storage to an art dealership firm like Patrons to handle these matters for you.

Art Index’s Top 5
Art Index Africa jury’s selection for this week is quite the wonder. These pieces are puzzling and deep conversation strikers. Art Index’s top 5 is a showdown of the top 5 well researched and curated art pieces everyone should want to collect, based on strong technique, message, style, and medium.

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In summary, of what value would it be to own an enviable and expensive art collection and not care for it properly?
Sunlight can cause your paintings to lose colour, fade, or crack.
Keep room conditions at safe levels; temperatures between 21˚C – 24˚C and humidity levels between 45% – 55%.
Invest in a good humidifier.
Avoid placing art in kitchens, bathrooms, and above fireplaces.
Avoid touching your art pieces with bare hands, always wear gloves when moving them.
Hire an art professional to help you with installations and other placements
Cleaning products are bad for cleaning art. If you must, clean every four to five months with a dry brush made of saber, badger, or similar hair.
When in transit, choose a safe storage facility to care for your collection during your leave of absence.

Until December’s digest,

Keep the distance 1-2m apart. 😷

Keturah Ovio