Fine art of caring for your collection of creative assets
Only 5% of the world’s artworks will survive the next 100 years, according to the Sotheby’s Institute of Art. Conservation and collection care are inherent aspects of owning art.
Conservation is as much about preventative care as it is about restoration when damage occurs, and there are some golden rules collectors can follow, particularly when handling and installing art.
It is estimated that 85% of damage to artworks happens during transit.
Proper wrapping and stacking are critical, and while the use of bubble-wrap is good, there must be a layer of acidfree tissue paper between the plastic and the artwork.
It is important the bubbles face outwards because if one pops the chemicals released may leave marks on the artwork’s surface.
Special care is also required when stacking twodimensional pieces. They must be face to face and back to back and with works of similar dimensions so that a smaller frame does not lean on the glass of a larger one. This is a simple way to prevent damage such as tear in a canvas or breakage of glass.
Light, heat and humidity are an artwork’s worst enemies, as are pollution and pests. While it is unrealistic to expect museum conditions in a private home, there are a few things collectors can do to best preserve art.
Artworks should not be exposed to direct sunlight and artificial lighting should be used cautiously. Fluorescent bulbs produce harmful ultraviolet radiation and incandescent light can cause fading.
Lamps should never point directly at a piece of art and individual picture lighting (generally advised against) should not exceed 25W.
Fading and discolouration can never be reversed.
Room temperature should ideally remain constant. As an indication, museums set the ambient range between 20°C and 22°C and regulate humidity levels at 50%.
Humidity stresses works of art through contraction and expansion and can accelerate the growth of micro-organisms. But its most detrimental effect is the generation of carbonic acid to which works on paper are particularly vulnerable. The results are discolouration and foxing marks.
Foxing refers to the rustcoloured stains that appear on old paper. Nowadays, the use of acid-free board to frame art is a crucial measure against this type of deterioration.
When it comes to hanging, collectors should be aware that paintings, especially oils on canvas, are sturdier than works on paper and that photography is fragile. It is estimated that photography constitutes 40% of art insurance claims.
Today artists use a range of materials traditionally not intended for making art, such as industrial materials and found objects, but also unconventional substances such as dust, blood or dung (the Turner Prize winner Chris Ofili is best known for his paintings using elephant dung). These materials are unstable at best and their care poses unprecedented challenges.
ALTERED ARTWORKS
The trend in conservation today is to preserve an artwork as close as possible to the state intended by the artist. Poorly qualified specialists gave restoration a bad reputation due to heavy-handed interventions that altered artworks beyond their original state.
Artists can exercise their droit moral (moral rights) over their art. They can disown an art piece that has been overtly modified. Excessive overpainting used to be very popular, but unwittingly highlights over time the different ageing processes between the new and the original paint.
Imperceptible and reversible restorations have become the holy grail and the most common conservation is cleaning with minimal retouching when necessary.
If an artwork is damaged, it is justified to resort to restoration to save it for posterity. However, art owners should choose carefully who they entrust their art to and bear in mind that poor remedial treatment can negatively affect the resale value.
Common interventions include the consolidation of flaking in paintings and the removal of surface dirt and yellowing varnish. Damage in transit, such as a perforated canvas, can be repaired with thin surgical needles and thread without leaving any visible scars. Severed threads can be glued together one by one with the use of a microscope to magnify the work area.
Foxing and water damage can be successfully removed with oxidising techniques and bore worm damage to frames can be contained by fumigation or by injecting special chemicals into the bore holes. Smoke and minimal fire damage can be cleaned up too.
Art conservators require an in-depth knowledge of art history and have to be proficient in various art practices, such as painting. But they also need an extensive knowledge of science and chemistry.
Modern conservation involves the use of scientific techniques such as infrared and ultraviolet methods, as well as X-rays and laser to analyse the condition of works before embarking on restoration.
With artists increasingly using a range of nontraditional materials, conservators have to constantly update their knowledge and methods to meet ever evolving demands.
Some conservators work closely with artists to help them develop innovative solutions and quality materials that can stand the test of time.
German conservator Ekkehard Hans, who now practises his trade in SA, remembers how he had to restore a work by Swiss artist Daniel Spoerri.
It consisted of a table with dishes, a half-empty box of cigarettes, a tablecloth covered with spilt coffee powder and a red-wine stain. The purpose was to clean the tableau but to preserve the coffee grounds and the red-wine mark.