Tips to Conserve your Artworks

One of the most important thing to have in mind when having an art collection is to give the enough importance to protect and conserve your artworks. If you are a professional collector and have wondered the steps to keep your paintings in an extremely good conditions, check out this tips. Don’t forget that art conservation is not only to save your own goods, but also to keep alive the memory of a society through art.

The term art conservation denotes the maintenance and preservation of works of art and their protection from future damage and deterioration. Together with art restoration, conserve your pieces have become an increasingly important aspect of the work not only of museums but also of civic authorities and all those concerned with works of art, whether artists, collectors, or gallerygoers.

According with the National Gallery of Australia, “preventive conservation aims to minimise deterioration and damage to works of art, therefore avoiding the need for invasive conservation treatment and ensuring works of art are protected for now and the future. Preventive conservation methods are based on the concept that deterioration and damage to works of art can be substantially reduced by controlling some of the major causes of this in the gallery environment.”

Here are some key tips to protect and conserve your paintings:

1. Keep away your painting from the sunlight.

Direct sunlight over the surface of a painting is extremely dangerous, mainly if it is a long exposure. The sunligh can drain the color to the point to lost the original tones or even worst: damaging the canvas.

2. Do not touch your artwork without gloves.

This is maybe one of the oldest recomendatios for art lovers, curators and collectors, and nowadays some people think that is not neccesarily using gloves when touching a piece. However, some aspects in the hands skin, such as dust, swet and even your fingerprint can provoke significant changes over the surface of any painting.

3. Don’t clean your paintings for any reason!

If your painting is unframed, do no use cleaners or solvents on the surface. Yes, we know dust is not the best accesorie for an artwork, but it is better to use a soft feather duster or sable brush.

4. Check the damp

Wether is hangued or stored, make sure your piece be placed in a dry environment. Humidity is one of the worst enemies for painting as it can provoke mold and with it a severe deterioration in the canvas.

5. Choose the best space with the best conditions. 

It is important to keep an artwork in the best conditions, wether is is hanging on your livin room or stored. The important thing is avoid spaces with ongoing fluctuations in temperatures, moisture and humidity.