When you are relocating, the thing that gives you the most worries is the safe transport of your belongings. That increases when you have valuable items to move, like your art collection. Art handling during the relocation is not naive at all. One wrong move and your priceless art piece can get damaged. That is why you should learn all the art handling hacks brought to you by the pros.

Art handling – Do you know what is your painting’s worst enemy?

If you have valuable paintings, you should know that there are some risks when it comes to moving it. Canvases are very delicate and you need to be extremely careful with art handling.
Here are the biggest risks for your painting during the move:

• Tears, breakages, loose impacts, smudges, and missing elements
• Deep fingerprints
• Stains and marks from skin contact, eating, smoking, cosmetics, and other chemicals.
• Materials and conditions that attract pests and are not suitable for art pieces: foods, poor storage materials, central heating, damp, strong light.

The common nominator of the risks of art handling is the human factor. People can accidentally break, rip or spill something onto your precious paintings. They can touch the canvas unintentionally and make stains. They can drop the box containing your art pieces when they are helping you to move.

The biggest risk to your paintings is unprofessional art handling.

That is why you should consider hiring professional movers to relocate your art. If your art collection is important to you, and we believe that it is, the safest way to relocate it is to hire a reliable company like Dorothy & Martha Moving NYC. This company is very reputable, and it has a lot of experience with art handling. When you hire these movers, you can be sure that your art collection will arrive at your new home safely and without any damages.

Hiring moving company for your relocation doesn’t only protect your belongings, it gives you the piece of your mind. It is the best way to avoid stress while moving, and leave you with a lot of time on your hands. The time that you can use by thinking the best way where to display your art in your new home and how to properly pack them.

Ask the experts about the proper art handling

If you have a beautiful art piece and you are not sure how to pack it or transport it, the best thing is to ask experts for advice – the artists. They will know exactly what protective materials you should and which to avoid. Also, they know the proper technique to minimize your direct contact with the art piece, which is crucial.
If you don’t know any artist or art experts personally, take a walk to the nearest gallery. The curator will be happy to give you some advice. You can also research the art forums and find some useful tips, but the safest way is to get advice from a certified art expert.

Artists or gallery curators will give you useful tips for art handling.

How to pack art?

As said, the safest way is to hire moving experts that can help you move your art collection. An even better solution is to enlist their packing services. Movers that have experience in art handling will know the best way to pack your art without causing any damages to it. Still, if you decide to pack your art collection on your own, you must be extremely careful.

Packing sculptures

Packing ceramic art sculptures and vases may don’t seem hard, but it can be very tricky. With the art vases or other types of decorative dishes, the first step will be to fill the inside of the art items with crumpled paper. After that, wrap the piece into the protective materials. You can even use bulky winter sweaters and blankets in order to ensure better safety.
When it comes to sculptures whit uneven and sharp edges, you need to be more careful. You should wrap every inch of the sculpture with paper and tape it several times. Create some kind of paper armor for the piece, and then additionally wrap it in the protective material and place it in the box. Don’t forget to fill the gaps so there is no empty space in the box.

Filling the empty space with protective materials will prevent the object from shifting in the box.

Packing paintings

You will see that art handling isn’t piece of cake when you start to research how to pack your paintings. It will seem like you just need to cover it and place it into the box. Right? Wrong!
It will take so much more than that.

• First step: wrap painting in plastic
• Next step is to seal the painting and frame in styrofoam
• The styrofoam-packed painting then place into a close-fitting cardboard box
• Make sure that you fill any empty space with a protective pack to avoid bouncing or jarring in transit
• Final step: seal the entire apparatus shut with packing tape

Pro tip: Never use packing peanuts!

Packing peanuts look like the perfect packing material that will protect your belongings. That is the case with all your other belongings except your art collections.
Actually,  it can even damage your painting. When you put foam peanuts in the box with your painting, they will settle to the bottom of the box. As the box jiggle in transit, the bottom of the box will flex and expand, allowing more peanuts to concentrate there. That will leave space at the top of the box without any protection.

How to store your art collection

When you are relocating, you may find yourself in the need for a place to store your belongings. Maybe your house still needs painting or repairs, and you don’t want to risk bringing your art in such an environment. Your first instinct may be to put your art collection in the attic or in your basement. That is a very bad idea. It is the easiest way to damage your art pieces and one of the worst mistakes of the art handling. It will be the shame that after all that hard work of protecting your art goes to waist.
In order to keep your art collection safe, you will need a place with consistent temperature and moderate humidity. Like a climate controlled storage unit.

Renting a storage unit is always the best option, especially if you plan to keep your art in storage for an extended period of time. So ask your movers about their storage services. Most moving company provide storage your belongings as additional services. Such services require additional cost, but compared to the value of your art collection, it is money very wisely spent.