A Positively Moving Experience
Moving Wall Art
Wall art is delicate and easy to damage even when attached to the wall – much less in the hubbub of packing, transport, and unpacking of the moving process. In this blog entry, the NYC area moving company and fine art moving service team here at Noah’ Ark Moving and Storage will detail some essential considerations regarding moving wall art.
How far are you moving the wall art?
If you’re only moving the art a short distance in the same area, you can carefully wrap it and maybe put it in the backseat of your car. Just make sure not to place paintings with high-quality oil paint or water colors in extreme heat or cold. If the trip is going to take more than a few hours, get your art properly packed by a professional art transportation team in a climate-controlled transport.
How will art be stored?
If you need to store your wall art during moving or a new home set up, it’s essential to ensure that art is properly protected, packed, and placed inside storage units. Ensue storage units are climate controlled in order to prevent damage from moisture or mold. If you’re in a hot climate, make sure the storage unit is 74 to 75 degrees, and if you’re in a cold climate, make sure your storage unit is 50 to 60 degrees.
What will you use to wrap your art?
Don’t wrap artwork in bubble wrap or shrink wrap, as this material has formaldehyde that off-gasses and can damage wall art. Make sure that any art moving team doesn’t use bubble wrap to protect wall art.
Informing Insurance Companies
Determine what insurance coverage you have for your wall art. Make sure that your current art insurance policy covers are during transit – and if it doesn’t consider adding coverage to protect your valuables. As a general rule, never move artwork without first ensuring it.
Document Collection
Create an inventory of your art collection documenting the name of every piece, its creator, year of creation, and estimated value. If you don’t know your art’s value, hire an art appraiser who can assess value after visiting your home and looking at your collection. Then take a picture of each piece from multiple angles. Document any existing damage. Then print these photos and label them carefully in order to have a hard copy art inventory.
Proper Boxes
Make sure that you have the proper form of a box to house your art. Purchase a mirror box or artwork box for statues, prints, and paintings. Wooden crates are ideal for large or heavy items. Pad each art piece inside the box, wrapping each piece individually and also placing enough padding in the boxes. If your artwork is framed, put it in a flat picture box that’s slightly larger than the art. Put crumbled up newsprint at the bottom of the box, and lay the art on top of it. Then close it and don’t tape it – move it to see if you feel shifting. If you do, add more padding. If you can see there’s no shifting, seal the box with tape and label it. Mark where the box should go and write FRAGILE on all sides of the box.
