While the best place to keep your artwork is probably on a wall or against a backdrop which really brings the surroundings alive – at times, circumstances demand that you put it away for safekeeping or perhaps, when you must move.

In this article, you’re going to find fairly simple tips to help store your artwork properly.

How to store pieces of art properly

Prepare your artwork for storage
Once you have made up your mind about when to move your artwork to a suitable storage area, you can get it ready for the packaging and storing that will follow.
A thorough cleaning with a dry and soft paintbrush, or ideally, a microfibre cloth, is always beneficial, although depending on your art’s medium, one or the other may prove to be more ideal for dusting off the artwork.

If the piece you’re moving is framed, then you should spray the wood with a quality polish. However, metal frames and sculptures too can benefit from polishing.
How you pack up your artwork depends on the level of protection that’s required.

How to pack framed artworks
You can’t just stuff framed artworks in a box and call it a day. Cardboard corners should be used to protect the frame and structure. Then, use any kind of padding like bubble wrap to cover the entire piece of art and secure this protective covering in place using string or tape.

You can always place your covered artwork in a wrap or plastic bag to protect it from dust and moisture. Now it’s safe to place your precious artwork in a box which is roughly the same size – ideally, it should be slightly larger but not too large. A gap of about a half to one inch around the corners would suffice.

How to pack unframed artworks
Many people tend to roll up canvas paintings before storing them because, well, it’s cheaper and saves a little bit of time. We’d never recommend that. In many cases, if you leave the artwork rolled up too long, it can develop cracks and creases in the paint. You certainly don’t want that happening to your gems.

The best way to pack up a canvas or unframed artwork is to first wrap it in glassine, which is a water and air-resistant material. Securely put it between two sheets made of cardboard or foam, which need to be only a tad bigger than the artwork or canvas itself.

As with framed pieces, you can add extra protection by placing it in a plastic bag and tying it up securely using tape or string. Put it away in a sturdy box with a bit of ‘give’ around the edges, just like before.

Sculptures and other artworks with shape
Bubble wrap is your friend when it comes to sculptures and other unique artifacts. The more edges there are, the more bubble wrap you will use, which can be secured using tape and an appropriately sized storage box. Be sure to stuff any extra space in the storage box with newspaper.

Your artwork is safe and good to go!