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"Caring for Oil Paintings"

By Jacqueline Ridge

Paintings and their frames are made of many different materials.

These include: varnish, paint, glue, canvas, wood, metal, gilding and plaster. Put all together they form a complex structure that is easily damaged if knocked or dropped. The materials are also sensitive too and can be damaged by the surrounding environment, extremes and changes in humidity, and heat, amounts of light and dirt.

How well a painting survives over a year depends on:

Keeping it in a good environment

Sensible handling and storage and display

What follows is some advice on how to care for your painting in your home

What can go wrong

Tears, punctures and holes, sagging canvas, bulges and dents, split canvas edges
Splits warps and cracks in wood. Insect damage (wood worm):
Cracked, loose or flaking paint, lost paint, fading, yellow varnish, dirt and dust, whitening, mould or mildew on the surface, disintegrating flames

What can you do

If you think your painting has a problem or you want to find out more about its condition contact a paintings conservator
Save any pieces that have fallen off, however small. Keep them safely in a bag or e envelope as they can nearly always be put back on
Do not attempt any repair or cleaning yourself. This is a skilled process and should only be carried out by a fully skilled conservator
The use of backboards is recommended as a crucial preventative conservation measure

Moving your painting

Tears, holes, scratches and dents are most Likely to happen when your painting is off the wall. If you plan ahead, these damages can usually be avoided.

If you are decorating, take the painting out of the room before any work has begun:
Make sure you have somewhere to put your painting before you move it:
When off the wall rest face out against a clear wall or padded surface, away from doorways, furniture and passing people;
Always make sure your hands are very clean and dry, or wear clean gloves;
Make sure the painting is securely fitted into frame;
When carrying your painting have it facing towards your body and use both hands. one to hold the edge and the other to support it from beneath;
Paintings with glass or those with fancy frames can be heavy, you may need two people.

Where to hang your painting

Most of the materials in a painting respond to changes in relative humidity and temperature by expanding and contracting. If the relative humidity keeps on changing then the painting keeps on expanding and contracting, the structure is stressed and begins to fall apart - paint layers cracks, canvas splits, wood splits, paint flakes off.

In a museum we can control the environment with air conditioning but this is not usually an option in the home. In the home, a painting can suffer quite easily from high and low humidity.

When choosing a good place to hang your painting it is worth considering the following points:

During the summer in Britain. the conditions in a well ventilated room are, in general, fairly good for paintings.

In the winter months, however, the central heating in homes really dries out the air and causes problems. Rooms that suffer from damp will have high humidity - dampness encourages mould or mildew.

Light and dirt also cause problems. Too much light can fade certain colours and will speed up the darkening of varnish, the more light the faster this happens. Dirt looks unsightly and may be very acid. Acid will speed up the breakdown of canvas and wood making it very brittle and vulnerable to knocks and blows.