This page covers:
A separate page covers |
Plus at the bottom of this page
LOTS AND LOTS OF TIPS and recommendations based on practical experience of wrapping, packing and shipping from:
|
|
|
"This handbook is intended to be a reference for anyone involved in the packing and shipping of painting"
Publisher: National Gallery of Art (June 1991)
Ring-bound edition |
Read my review of Art in Transit: Handbook for Packing and Transporting Paintings. This is a very large and comprehensive handbook, written for art galleries and museums, which tells you what to do when packing and transporting valuable artwork. However it's also applicable to all those moving and arranging for the transport of artwork.
It's ridiculously expensive for the ordinary artist BUT This book is also available for free from the Smithsonian Institute (see link BELOW). Which is nice, because copies are now difficult to get hold of and astronomically expensive - however if you want your very own copy..... Smithsonian Digital Repository: Art in Transit: Handbook for Packing and Transporting Paintings (6.1 MB PDF FILE)
Title: Art in Transit: Handbook for Packing and Transporting Paintings Editors: Mervin Richard, Marion F. Mecklenburg AND Ross M. Merrill Publisher: National Gallery of Art (1991) BUY IN USA Art in Transit: Handbook for Packing and Transporting Paintings from Amazon.com
|
BIG CLEAR ADDRESS LABELS
ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING you ship needs a BIG CLEAR LABEL which is difficult to miss.
Tip - Do NOT Let Your Parcel Get Lost
Don't forget to use a waterproof marker or pen to include your address on the reverse side of the package. Just in case anything should go wrong...... |
MULTIPLE LABELS
|
It's ABSOLUTELY VITAL to check out dimensions when packaging and sending artwork - many services now price on dimensions as well as - or instead of - weight.
|
When comparing shipping rates make sure you know BOTH
|
DIMENSIONS
It's a really good idea to check the dimensions:
You may be required to do a bit of maths and work out the cubic volume that your parcel occupies. |
WEIGHT
Your biggest challenge may be about finding something which helps you weight your artwork! Robust kitchen scales are fine for small packets and parcels if they have a suitable upper weight limit. For heavy parcels you need something with an upper weight limit which exceeds the likely weight. Heavy parcels are often weighed on flat scales with a remote digital reader for the actual weight (on the basis you can't see the surface the parcel is sat on! One simple remedy for large artwork artwork you can hold in your hand is to use the bathroom scales. Pop on and weigh yourself and then add the packaged artwork while standing on the scales and weigh again. Typically you need two people - one to hold the artwork and the other to take the reading. This strategy is less useful if you're a bit heavy to start with and close to the limit on weight measured by your scales. |
In 2005, a quarter of all claims received by AXA (USA - which focuses on art insurance) involved works of art damaged in transit, versus 15 percent for theft or on-site burglary.
Learn the lessons of what happens when a shipper uses a commercial courier rather than a specialist art carrier. |
This video by Lori McNee is a taster for what this page gets into in some depth - it's also a jolly helpful and informative video!
|
|
From SNAG 2012 Professional Development Seminar
Leila Hamdam, an artist, collector, curator who worked at a museum as the Registrar and Collection Manager and was responsible for all arrivals, packing and departure of artwork. Her presentation and video:
She recommends Estelle Berman's Condition Report |
|
BELOW Brigitte Martin shares her experience with a shipping disaster and how she documents the damage
This video is 10 MINUTES long. |
|
IF YOU MUST SHIP FRAMED/GLAZED WORKS...........
You will need STRONG EXTERNAL PACKAGING:
|
INTERNAL PACKAGING must be effective
|
|
because the packages are small, they are more likely to get tossed around, stacked, and generally treated roughly. |
How to Ship A Painting - YouTube - Learn how to ship your art (paintings) in this free 50 minute video from Xanadu Gallery. Learn:
|
|
This is an EXCELLENT video by a man who demonstrates a very good way to ship paintings for those who don't have any boxes to pack the paintings in.
I cannot emphasise too much how right he is about:
I recommend you watch this video with the sound turned off. The soundtrack is a little intrusive so I suggest you turn your volume down - and keep watching. All the instructions are written on screen. Content - with annotations is great but sound is AWFUL!
|
|
This is a video made by the Agora Gallery who are increasingly providing decent resources for artists needing help with the basics.
It provides very straightforward, simple and precise explanations of what you need to do - as the painting is packed. This man is a tape gun expert! |
|
CAUTION!!
This is somebody who packs paintings on a regular basis hence has got the technique down to a fine art .....or does he?! He demonstrates using peanuts for packing and neatly illustrates why they are a mistake! Peanuts everywhere! He also hasn't removed the labels from the box BEFORE he started. |
|
Some ship flat and some ship rolled. On the whole it seems to be the size and shape and whether or not they are matted which seems to determine whether they are flat or rolled.
|
You need to create an interior and an exterior package. Labels and paperwork are attached to the exterior package. The interior package prevents damage from the environment and exterior packing materials.
|
TO MAT OR NOT TO MAT
CREATE AN ARCHIVAL & WATERPROOF BARRIER
A BOARD PREVENTS BENDING
CHOOSE A SUITABLE ENVELOPE I prefer
|
VERY IMPORTANT:
HOW TO AVOID MOVEMENT INSIDE A PACKAGE If shipping flat then my practice is as follows:
|
Shipping art on paper can be tricky. This VIDEO is a slideshow which highlights what you should be thinking about if you use a tube.
REFERENCE: Unstretched Paintings
|
Sculptures and ceramics present very particular problems
As a result when shipping artwork in three dimensions:
|
REFERENCE: Shipping Sculpture and ceramics
|
Custom Shipping Box / Design Your Work for Shipping by Harriete Estel Berman
|
|
TIPS FROM ARTISTS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS
|
Next you can read original blog posts and articles by various artists and photographers about what they think about when packaging their work - and lessons learned along the way
HOW TO WRAP AND PACK...... Detailed advice about
|
REFERENCE: Tips from Galleries and Curators
|
REFERENCE: Tips by Saatchi Art Online - Seller's Guide
|
Art Societies will not be using professional handlers, often do not have proper storage and knowledge of how to ship art can sometimes be very limited.
They're often in need of as much advice as artists. Fortunately some share what they know |
REFERENCE: Tips from Art Societies
|
Art Collectors are often responsible for shipping their newly purchased art - however not all art collectors are experts at shipping art.
Tips which apply to artists, museums and curators apply equally to art collectors. However the REFERENCE section has articles directed specifically for collectors |
REFERENCE Tips from Art Collectors
|
If shipping Internationally you also need to read carefully the the specific requirements of different shippers
- see the section on INTERNATIONAL POST AND SHIPPING SERVICES When getting shipping quotes, it always pays to ensure you know exactly what level of packaging your irreplaceable item is getting. You'll also find links to some of the packing materials mentioned below. |
REFERENCE Tips from Art Shippers
|
The packaging used must always be in proportion to the weight and size of the item being posted. Our advice in these guidelines for internal and external packaging may not be applicable to all large and/or fragile items for which additional/sufficient packaging should always be used. |
REFERENCE FROM REPUTABLE SOURCES
|
Copyright: 2015-2021 Katherine Tyrrell | Making A Mark Publications
- all rights reserved If you've got any suggestions for what you'd like to see on this website please send me your suggestion
|
PLEASE NOTE:
1) Content and the law change all the time. It's impossible to keep up with it if you're not working on the topic full time. 2) I research topics carefully. However, I am totally unable to warrant that ANY and/or ALL information is
|
3) Hence all information I provide comes without any LIABILITY whatsoever to you for any choices you make.
4) This website is FREE FOR YOU but not for me. Links to books are Amazon Affiliate links. Buying a book via this website means I get a very small payment which helps to fund and maintain this website. .I much appreciate any support your provide. Adverts are provided by Google AdSense - but the adverts do not mean I endorse the advertiser. |