Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
3 <br />Display art; <br />• Away from busy flow of traffic to avoid damage and vandalism (avoid <br />narrow corridors, swinging doors, coat racks, etc.) <br />• Away from sources of moisture and convection currents (vents) <br />• With D-rings, not screw eyes, if possible to hang pictures <br />If wire must be used to hang art, do not use monofilament wire but select <br />a multi-stand, woven galvanized wire of proper weight. <br />Do not hang art from a nail. Use "bulldog clips" made to support <br />recommended poundage. Try to hang art from studs in the wall so bulldog <br />clips will not pull out of weak and friable drywall. <br />Avoid unnecessary handling of objects. Know where you will put an object <br />down before you pick it up. Get a helper to lift larger or heavy objects. <br />When transporting pictures, use both hands, holding the frame by each <br />side of the picture with the image side towards you. Never lift and carry a <br />picture by the top section of the frame. It is always a good precaution <br />when transporting art to have a second person to help with doors, etc. <br />Do not carry hinged paper art works (i.e., prints and drawings) on the side <br />for risk of the art work tearing from the hinges. <br />Always wash hands prior to handling artwork. <br />It should never be necessary to touch the surface of a painting. <br />Fingerprints on paint surtaces or on frames can damage and spoil the <br />finish. They might cause some varnishes to bloom and might thereby <br />necessitate treatment of the whole surface. Paintings should not be <br />treated with oil of any kind, solvents such as alcohol or benzene, <br />commercial cleaning preparations, soap, water, erasers, bread crumbs, <br />raw potato, or household cleansers. Neglect is less dangerous than <br />inexpert treatment. If there is any doubt about the condition of a painting, <br />or if it has been damaged accidentally, it should be left untouched until it <br />can be examined by a conservator. <br />-- from information received from David Findley, former <br />Chief Conservator at the North Carolina Museum of Art, and from <br />