Fine Art Storage: is self storage good enough?

A fine art disaster

In May 2004, a fire ripped through a warehouse in Leyton, north London, destroying millions of pounds worth of art. It was the warehouse of Momart, a respected company that moves and stores fine art for galleries and institutions around the country, and the world.

It appears that burglars targeting adjacent premises started the fire in order to cover their tracks. In so doing, they destroyed work by many leading contemporary British artists, including Damien Hirst, Chris Ofili, and Jake and Dinos Chapman, plus a large number of works by the late Patrick Heron. The most famous all the losses, however, was the tent by Tracey Emin called “Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963‒1995”, embroidered with the names of all the people she had shared a bed with.

The importance of insurance

So, if this can happen to a major company like Momart, can it happen to you? The answer is, of course, yes.

One way to soften the blow of such a disaster is to be able to claim on insurance. But this in itself raises some issues. To buy insurance cover for valuable paintings you will need to get them valued. And if they have a high value, then you will need to consider proper fine art storage, operated by specialists in this field ‒ companies such as Cadogan Tate, or Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services (CFASS). They offer facilities that have full humidity and temperature control, smoke and water detectors, alarms and CCTV.

But these are the preserve of serious collectors. What about lesser mortals, who nonetheless have paintings or drawings that they cannot, for some reason, keep on the walls of their homes, and want to store?

Storage at home

Oil paintings, acrylic paintings, and works on paper (prints, drawings and watercolours) need certain conditions if they are to be preserved safely.

They need:

• A stable climate that is neither too hot nor too cold ‒ about 20°C
• A humidity level that is neither too dry nor too damp ‒ about 50% relative humidity
• Protection from

◊ strong light
◊ dust
◊ abrasion and knocks
◊ insects and vermin

This means that it is unwise to store any works of art in an attic (which can become very hot in summer, and very cold in winter), or a cellar or garage (which can be damp, or become very cold in winter).

Sculptures, of course, can usually tolerate much more robust conditions: they are normally designed stand in public places, even in gardens – although more delicate pieces will need special protection in storage, in accordance with the media used.

Self storage for fine art

Essentially, the ideal conditions for storage are very similar to the kind of conditions that are present in a home, where these works might be kept when they are on view. And they are the type of conditions available in most modern, purpose-built self storage facilities ‒ especially if they are climate controlled. By contrast, container storage or garage lock-ups are probably not going to provide the right environment for paintings or works on paper.

All competent self storage facilities also provide good security, with CCTV and 24-hour alarm systems and smoke detectors.

Less valuable works, worth under £500 or so, could be placed in self storage, and, in respect of insurance, could probably be covered under the global value of the contents as a whole.

Of course, the degree to which you should insist on achieving perfect conditions will depend on the degree to which your works of art are valuable, or precious to you.

Simple precautions

Beyond seeking out the best conditions as cited above, you can take measures to protect your works of art.

It is best to keep them in their frames, which are essentially protective boxes in their own right. Wrap them in polythene or fabric for extra protection. Store them vertically, ideally in racks, but otherwise standing loosely one against the other, ranked from smallest to largest, and ensuring that none of them puts weight in the surface of its neighbour.

If you are storing paintings with exposed paint surfaces (oil paintings without glass, for instance), protect the paint from direct contact with the wrapping by using acid-free or silicone release paper. If the frame does not create a box-like projection that provides a void over the paint surface, consider creating one with sheets of hardboard.

Works on paper can suffer from foxing (brown spots) as a result of moulds in damp conditions, or the presence of metallic impurities in the paper. They can also react to acids in the mounts (“mount burn”) and contact with the wood in the frame or back panels. So prints, drawings and watercolours are extra-sensitive to damp. But super-dry conditions will turn the paper brittle.

So, is self storage good enough?

The answer is yes, provided that the climate is not too damp, and the temperatures not too extreme, and provided that the works being stored are not so precious as to warrant more specialist storage