How To Care For Your Paintings

Vincent Van Gogh

Portrait of Dr. Paul Gachet

• Things to Consider: The best place to hang a painting is on a wall which has a wall stud where you can securely anchor the wall hooks, away from any heat source, in a place of relatively stable and reasonable humidity and not in direct sunlight.

• Dirt and Heat: Heat dries out the material of the painting, speeding up the process of natural aging.   Also, as hot air rises it carries dirt with it.  Thus, a painting above a heat source will experience far more grime than is normal for the rest of the room. 

• Water: Moisture will weaken the adhesion of the paint layers and eventually cause paint loss.   The support and ground are the most sensitive components of the painting to water damage.  If damage to the support and ground are pervasive, further damage to the paint and varnish may occur.

• Humidity: Low or high relative humidity as well as rapid changes in relative humidity are not good for paintings. 

• Light: Fugitive dyes and colorants used in the paints will eventually discolor under exposure to ultraviolet light.  The fading of pigments and dyes in paintings will affect the color balance of the image.  The intensity and wavelengths of light used in displaying graphic art is generally safe for paintings.