KEEPING ART: The Care of Prints, Drawings & Water Based Painting
Internet publication by Bert Witkamp.*
First published: 2 September 2013
Updated and revised: 30 May 2024
Technical paper no 1: Keeping art: the care of drawings, prints, and watercolours. Two-dimensional portable art is fragile and will get damaged if not properly cared for. Below basic guidelines for display and storage of drawings, prints, and water based paintings.
1 Introduction
Water colours, gouache, drawings by pen or pencil and printed graphic art are media that are worldwide used in modern art. Each of these media has its own materials and binders and manners of application (see technical paper no 2). Art is or should be made according to certain professional rules. Art made in these media is stored or displayed. Just as in the making of art, certain rules and procedures apply in storage or keeping of art. In Zambian modern art most of these techniques are of fairly recent introduction. Yet there are and have been a good number of purchasers of these arts; be these occasional buyers, collectors, institutions or companies. The art they bought generally is fragile and hence it is important that in storage or display basic rules are observed. These are discussed below.
In this text we first consider framed art behind glass on display and then framed and unframed art in storage.
2 Purchased framed art with glass
The purpose of framing and mounting is twofold: to adequately present and protect the work of art inside of it. You need to consider three factors in preserving the art object well:
The material construction of the art work,
The manner in which it has been mounted and framed, and,
The location where the object is to be.
2.1 The material construction of the art work
Art work, in the classical western tradition, is made of a specific range of materials, applied by specified procedure. One key factor in the selection of these materials is permanency – art materials if well applied are to result in a “permanent” work of art. Practically other factors also come into play such as availability, costs and technical knowledge of the artist. It happens that modern artists may have insufficient knowledge of art materials, an issue which particularly affects the choice and application of colours.
The concept of “permanency” does not feature in the ideology of many modern artists, notably as of WW II. The work of those artists is not made to last, sometimes deliberately so. The issue of material soundness, however, is a concern for buyers and collectors, especially as art usually does not come cheap or is purchased in order to be preserved.
Laymen rarely have the knowledge or means to assess the material soundness of a work of art. But you may be able to see whether proper paper has been used as the support for your print, drawing, water colour or gouache. Proper art paper does not or hardly yellow. The permanency of colours is hard to establish by sight alone – when it comes to inks and pigments you depend on the artist’s consciousness and knowledge. Charcoal, black pencil and Indian ink don’t fade, but the ink of felt pen and markers do loose their original colour. The moral of this story is to carefully observe the recommendations in section 1.3 concerning the location of art you have already bought and to do some investigation on the material soundness of art you consider to buy in the future, in particular when such an object has a hefty price tag attached to it or needs preservation from a collector’s or curator’s point of view.
2.2 Mount and frame
Mounting board for art work is especially made board and should not be substituted by cheap ordinary board or carton. Art mounting board should be acid free and not or hardly discolour over time. The board, if tinted, should be tinted by the use of inks or solids that are fast to light; that is, do not easily fade. One purpose of the mounting board is to protect the art work from contact with the glass. If the picture has been mounted in a wobbly manner, or is wobbly by itself, this purpose might not be achieved and remounting is to be considered. The art work should be attached to the mounting board by a few drops of gum Arabic (water based glue) at the top or by a strip of water based glue connecting mount and art work, also applied at the top of the art work. Do not use or accept sellotape or the like as the adhesives of such materials in time migrate into the absorbent surfaces onto which they have been applied.
A protective sheet of paper should be placed behind the mounted picture. The sheet should be of acid free paper, such as good plain art paper.
Behind this protective sheet is the backing of the frame. A suitable backing material is oil-free masonite (see photo 3). Masonite is compressed exploded wood. It has a smooth side and a rough side that has the imprinted mesh which is part of the pressing process. The rough side should be the outside. For small pictures a good cardboard also will do. Unsuitable backings are made of cheap cardboard such as the kind of which boxes are made or poor quality mounting board. Cheap yes, suitable no. The backing is tacked against the frame.
First published: 2 September 2013
Updated and revised: 30 May 2024
Technical paper no 1: Keeping art: the care of drawings, prints, and watercolours. Two-dimensional portable art is fragile and will get damaged if not properly cared for. Below basic guidelines for display and storage of drawings, prints, and water based paintings.
1 Introduction
Water colours, gouache, drawings by pen or pencil and printed graphic art are media that are worldwide used in modern art. Each of these media has its own materials and binders and manners of application (see technical paper no 2). Art is or should be made according to certain professional rules. Art made in these media is stored or displayed. Just as in the making of art, certain rules and procedures apply in storage or keeping of art. In Zambian modern art most of these techniques are of fairly recent introduction. Yet there are and have been a good number of purchasers of these arts; be these occasional buyers, collectors, institutions or companies. The art they bought generally is fragile and hence it is important that in storage or display basic rules are observed. These are discussed below.
In this text we first consider framed art behind glass on display and then framed and unframed art in storage.
2 Purchased framed art with glass
The purpose of framing and mounting is twofold: to adequately present and protect the work of art inside of it. You need to consider three factors in preserving the art object well:
The material construction of the art work,
The manner in which it has been mounted and framed, and,
The location where the object is to be.
2.1 The material construction of the art work
Art work, in the classical western tradition, is made of a specific range of materials, applied by specified procedure. One key factor in the selection of these materials is permanency – art materials if well applied are to result in a “permanent” work of art. Practically other factors also come into play such as availability, costs and technical knowledge of the artist. It happens that modern artists may have insufficient knowledge of art materials, an issue which particularly affects the choice and application of colours.
The concept of “permanency” does not feature in the ideology of many modern artists, notably as of WW II. The work of those artists is not made to last, sometimes deliberately so. The issue of material soundness, however, is a concern for buyers and collectors, especially as art usually does not come cheap or is purchased in order to be preserved.
Laymen rarely have the knowledge or means to assess the material soundness of a work of art. But you may be able to see whether proper paper has been used as the support for your print, drawing, water colour or gouache. Proper art paper does not or hardly yellow. The permanency of colours is hard to establish by sight alone – when it comes to inks and pigments you depend on the artist’s consciousness and knowledge. Charcoal, black pencil and Indian ink don’t fade, but the ink of felt pen and markers do loose their original colour. The moral of this story is to carefully observe the recommendations in section 1.3 concerning the location of art you have already bought and to do some investigation on the material soundness of art you consider to buy in the future, in particular when such an object has a hefty price tag attached to it or needs preservation from a collector’s or curator’s point of view.
2.2 Mount and frame
Mounting board for art work is especially made board and should not be substituted by cheap ordinary board or carton. Art mounting board should be acid free and not or hardly discolour over time. The board, if tinted, should be tinted by the use of inks or solids that are fast to light; that is, do not easily fade. One purpose of the mounting board is to protect the art work from contact with the glass. If the picture has been mounted in a wobbly manner, or is wobbly by itself, this purpose might not be achieved and remounting is to be considered. The art work should be attached to the mounting board by a few drops of gum Arabic (water based glue) at the top or by a strip of water based glue connecting mount and art work, also applied at the top of the art work. Do not use or accept sellotape or the like as the adhesives of such materials in time migrate into the absorbent surfaces onto which they have been applied.
A protective sheet of paper should be placed behind the mounted picture. The sheet should be of acid free paper, such as good plain art paper.
Behind this protective sheet is the backing of the frame. A suitable backing material is oil-free masonite (see photo 3). Masonite is compressed exploded wood. It has a smooth side and a rough side that has the imprinted mesh which is part of the pressing process. The rough side should be the outside. For small pictures a good cardboard also will do. Unsuitable backings are made of cheap cardboard such as the kind of which boxes are made or poor quality mounting board. Cheap yes, suitable no. The backing is tacked against the frame.
Photo 1. Protective cover strip torn due to expansion and contraction.
Photo 2. Poor backing allowing dust and bugs to creep in.
The border area of the backing and the adjacent frame should be covered by a glued strip of paper – the glue usually is fish glue – and such sealing serves to keep dust and bugs out (see photo 1). It is a good thing to do, but don’t use cello tape or similar adhesive strips. The condition of the sealing strips need to be checked from time to time as they tend to tear due to contraction and expansion. Glass, 2 or 3 mm thick and preferably non-reflexive, is in front of the mounted picture and held in place by the frame. Such glass should be of the uv absorbing kind, also called museum glass. Clean it occasionally with a soft damp cloth or methylated spirits. Don’t let water seep into the frame.
Frames usually do not require much attention save for the occasional dusting. Wooden frames that are oiled with furniture oil need to receive their periodic oil treatment. That is about twice a year. If you do not know what oil to use, or are limited in your choices, just use baby oil. The main thing about furniture wood oils is that they should be non-drying oils. If you are tired of the repetitive oiling business just use boiled linseed oil. That’ll suffice for a long time. Boiled linseed oil does “dry.”
2.3 Location when displayed
Your art work either is in storage or on display. We’ll first look at the on display situation. Most important about the place of display when it comes to preservation are the don’ts.
Thy shall not:
1). Sunlight shall cause your picture to fade when inferior pigments or inks are used and may eventually also cause durable pigments or inks to fade or change colour. This point is dramatically demonstrated in photograph no 1. Fading is accelerated by the use of poor pigments, as in this case. Exposure to sunlight may also cause other problems by the differential absorption of warmth by light and dark area’s with white areas staying cool and dark area’s warming up. Such temperature variations cause differences in expansion or contraction across and within the picture, and results in local variation of humidity as well. These factors contribute to the gradual destruction of your work of art. The detrimental effect of light is reduced by using uv filtering glass, but even then art work should only be illuminated by indirect light emitting no or negligible levels of uv rays.
2). Art work should not be placed close to illuminating light bulbs as these shall warm up the object. The art work should have normal room temperature and generally abrupt changes in temperature should be avoided. Artificial light may also emit damaging uv rays – but LED lights don’t. Bear this in mind when you use spotlights to highlight your art work on the wall or floor.
3). Art work should not be placed in a spot with excessively varying temperatures, such as close to a fire place or other source of heat. Such an environment by inflicting expansion and contraction as well as excessive changes in humidity is detrimental to the material construction of the art work.
4). Drafts bring about changes in temperature and/or humidity and transport dust that may settle on or in your picture. Not good.
5). A humid wall or prolonged exposure to excessively humid air shall transfer humidity onto and into your frame and picture. Humidity shall cause fungi and bacteria to thrive on your art work. In that event you need to open the frame, take out the picture to let it dry up and free it of debris by the use of a soft brush. It is best to consult an expert if the picture is valuable. The mount, protective sheet and backing must be replaced if affected. The frame must be thoroughly cleaned and dried. Humidity also promotes undesirable mechanical and chemical action and reaction.
3 Art in Storage
Art in storage is either framed or not framed.
3.1 Stored art in frame with glass
These objects best are kept in a vertical position to reduce the chance of breaking the glass. The main requirement is to store the work in a reasonably dry place. In tropical area’s one must be mindful of termites. Inspect periodically – twice a year.
3.2 Unframed stored art
Art purchased as a print, drawing, watercolour or gouache usually is kept in a portfolio; with protective sheets of good paper between them. It is better if the works are mounted as this leaves the surface free of contact with other materials. Collectors may store in special drawers. The main dangers are excessive humidity and sometimes insects. Periodic inspection is necessary – you’ll be surprised how easily dust and bugs find their way into you art collection!
Frames usually do not require much attention save for the occasional dusting. Wooden frames that are oiled with furniture oil need to receive their periodic oil treatment. That is about twice a year. If you do not know what oil to use, or are limited in your choices, just use baby oil. The main thing about furniture wood oils is that they should be non-drying oils. If you are tired of the repetitive oiling business just use boiled linseed oil. That’ll suffice for a long time. Boiled linseed oil does “dry.”
2.3 Location when displayed
Your art work either is in storage or on display. We’ll first look at the on display situation. Most important about the place of display when it comes to preservation are the don’ts.
Thy shall not:
- Expose your picture to sunlight.
- Hang your picture close to a source of heat.
- Hang your picture where there are strong drafts.
- Hang your picture against a damp wall or in an excessively damp environment.
1). Sunlight shall cause your picture to fade when inferior pigments or inks are used and may eventually also cause durable pigments or inks to fade or change colour. This point is dramatically demonstrated in photograph no 1. Fading is accelerated by the use of poor pigments, as in this case. Exposure to sunlight may also cause other problems by the differential absorption of warmth by light and dark area’s with white areas staying cool and dark area’s warming up. Such temperature variations cause differences in expansion or contraction across and within the picture, and results in local variation of humidity as well. These factors contribute to the gradual destruction of your work of art. The detrimental effect of light is reduced by using uv filtering glass, but even then art work should only be illuminated by indirect light emitting no or negligible levels of uv rays.
2). Art work should not be placed close to illuminating light bulbs as these shall warm up the object. The art work should have normal room temperature and generally abrupt changes in temperature should be avoided. Artificial light may also emit damaging uv rays – but LED lights don’t. Bear this in mind when you use spotlights to highlight your art work on the wall or floor.
3). Art work should not be placed in a spot with excessively varying temperatures, such as close to a fire place or other source of heat. Such an environment by inflicting expansion and contraction as well as excessive changes in humidity is detrimental to the material construction of the art work.
4). Drafts bring about changes in temperature and/or humidity and transport dust that may settle on or in your picture. Not good.
5). A humid wall or prolonged exposure to excessively humid air shall transfer humidity onto and into your frame and picture. Humidity shall cause fungi and bacteria to thrive on your art work. In that event you need to open the frame, take out the picture to let it dry up and free it of debris by the use of a soft brush. It is best to consult an expert if the picture is valuable. The mount, protective sheet and backing must be replaced if affected. The frame must be thoroughly cleaned and dried. Humidity also promotes undesirable mechanical and chemical action and reaction.
3 Art in Storage
Art in storage is either framed or not framed.
3.1 Stored art in frame with glass
These objects best are kept in a vertical position to reduce the chance of breaking the glass. The main requirement is to store the work in a reasonably dry place. In tropical area’s one must be mindful of termites. Inspect periodically – twice a year.
3.2 Unframed stored art
Art purchased as a print, drawing, watercolour or gouache usually is kept in a portfolio; with protective sheets of good paper between them. It is better if the works are mounted as this leaves the surface free of contact with other materials. Collectors may store in special drawers. The main dangers are excessive humidity and sometimes insects. Periodic inspection is necessary – you’ll be surprised how easily dust and bugs find their way into you art collection!
Photo 3. Inside of neglected portfolio. Dark spots are fungi.
Conclusion
When purchasing art check the soundness of its material construction and store or display it properly. When in doubt consult an expert, especially when the work is unique and/or costly. Collectors/keepers these days can do quite a bit of research themselves by surfing the net and communicating with fellow art lovers.
*The author is a cultural anthropologist, professional artist and writer. He taught material technology of art at the art teachers diploma course of the Evelyn Hone College, Lusaka, during 1977-1980.
References:
Ralph Mayer. The Artist’s Handbook of Materials and Techniques. 1982. New York, The Viking Press.
G. Witkamp. The Matter of Art and Artists. Revised internet text of 2024.
When purchasing art check the soundness of its material construction and store or display it properly. When in doubt consult an expert, especially when the work is unique and/or costly. Collectors/keepers these days can do quite a bit of research themselves by surfing the net and communicating with fellow art lovers.
*The author is a cultural anthropologist, professional artist and writer. He taught material technology of art at the art teachers diploma course of the Evelyn Hone College, Lusaka, during 1977-1980.
References:
Ralph Mayer. The Artist’s Handbook of Materials and Techniques. 1982. New York, The Viking Press.
G. Witkamp. The Matter of Art and Artists. Revised internet text of 2024.
