I was featured as an expert speaker this last week at the Laguna Arts Festival Lecture series (http://bit.ly/pVVE6C)where I spoke about general things to think about when protecting and saving collectibles, artwork etc. We talked about protecting and saving items from
- storage problems, http://saveyourstuffblog.com/damaged-art/poor-storaged-causes-damaged-paintings/
- taking precautions when shipping, http://www.saveyourstuff.com/blog/save-your-stuff/do-you-pack-and-ship-art-work-and-fragile-items/
- aging and falling apart, http://saveyourstuffblog.com/water-damage/liquid-stain-on-lithograph-of-a-woman-by-henri-matisse/
- floods and landslides, http://saveyourstuffblog.com/water-damage/plains-indians-encampment-water-damage-in-garage/
- fires, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lCx-xg4BMYhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lCx-xg4BMY
- … and earthquakes; One of the things I talked about was having good hanging hardware on paintings and using Museum Wax to anchor the painting to the wall. http://saveyourstuffblog.com/earthquake/538/
Well, yesterday, someone’s disaster walked through my front door. A valuable vintage painting’s wire broke and the oil painting on canvas hit the edge of a table and here’s what you get… a 6 inch x 18 inch “L” shapped rip and flaking paint.
Damaged caused when the oil painting's hanging wire broke
The reverse side of the painting with the rip, caused by the hanging wire breaking
Remember, the weakest link in the chain is the one that breaks and causes the damage. The parts that ALL NEED TO BE REMEMBERED for hanging an oil painting on the wall are:
- Quality and large eye hangers that hold the wire.
- Thick wire, preferable plastic coated
- Nail in wall hits a stud. If not, use a multi nail hanger made for drywall.
- Use the largest hanger possible
- Use Museum Wax in the lower two corners to anchor the painting against the wall and so it won’t “jump” off the hook when things start to shake.
“Overkill” is the operative word here. Remember, you are designing this to withstand an earthquake… or your grandkids! You do the math; be a good curator of your collection or mishaps like the one in the photo above are $4,300.00 to fix perfect.
Questions” Call Scott at 805 564 3438
Art appraisal questions? Call Richard at 805 895 5121
Also see http://www.fineartconservationlab.com
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My goodness what great suggestion! I’ve never seen this info or been told by anyone what should be the way to hang my artwork correctly. I believe you have truly saved me $1,000’s! With all my heart felt thanks!