Have you ever noticed how dim the drawings rooms are in a museum? At the Louvre or the British Museum, works on paper are often kept in low light, shown for a few months, then rested in the dark. Paper is beautiful and fragile, and museums treat it accordingly.
You don't need a museum's budget to do the same at home. You need a few habits.
Keep it out of the sun
Light, especially ultraviolet light, slowly fades inks and yellows paper. The damage is gradual and can't be undone.
- Hang paper works away from direct sunlight, including the patch of sun that crosses the wall at four o'clock.
- Ask your framer for UV-filtering glass or acrylic. It's one of the best investments you can make.
- If you rotate your art, let a favourite piece rest in a drawer for a season.
Mind the air
Paper responds to its surroundings. Conservators generally aim for a stable room at around 18 to 22°C and 40 to 55% relative humidity.
- Avoid bathrooms, kitchens, cellars and attics, and walls above radiators or fireplaces.
- Exterior walls can be colder and damper; an inside wall is usually safer.
- Stability matters more than perfection: sudden swings are worse than a slightly imperfect constant.
Frame it properly
- Use acid-free (archival) mount board and backing, so the paper doesn't yellow where it touches.
- Keep the artwork from touching the glass; a mount or spacers leave a little air between them.
- Never use ordinary sticky tape. Ask for archival hinges instead.
For the look of it, here's how to frame a print so it belongs in a gallery.
Handle and store with care
- Wash and dry your hands before touching paper, and hold it by the edges.
- Store unframed works flat, never rolled or folded, in acid-free folders or a drawer.
- No paper clips, staples or rubber bands.
- To dust a frame, use a soft dry cloth. Never spray cleaner directly onto the glass.
Why it's worth it
A print you care for today could be on someone's wall in fifty years, with a story attached: who bought it, where it hung, which mornings it saw.
A print worth looking after
My Blue Toile n.2 is a giclée print on fine art paper, hand-finished and signed, with a meditation letter. Framed well and kept from strong sun, it can stay with you for a very long time.
Remember to take as much time as you need, and meet me at the next one.
Love, Evi