How to Prepare, Pack, and Transport Your Art Collection

Do you need to move a valuable art collection? Whether your art is a passion or a source of profit, protecting it during your move is vital for its continued health. To help you keep everything safe and secure as it travels to its new home, discover a few tips for preparing, packing, and transporting art.

Prepare the Collection

First, inspect all the artworks to make sure they are in good condition for the move. If possible, repair or restore broken parts, or at least stabilize these as much as possible. Clean pieces that can be safely cleaned, such as sculptures and furnishings. Avoiding debris and dust on the artworks when they are wrapped and boxed will help prevent damage.

Next, organize and catalog the collection. This serves several purposes. First, you will be better able to sort through it and find everything once it goes into boxes and arrives in a new location. Second, you can confirm that all pieces have been packed and arrive safely at your new home. And finally, documentation and cataloging makes insurance claims easier and more successful should that be necessary.

Pack the Collection

Once you have spent some time preparing your works for transport, think about the best ways to pack and protect them. The most valuable pieces often need custom boxes or crates to protect them. In addition, artwork with unusual shapes and potential breakage points - like fragile arms, necks, or spouts - should travel in custom containers fit to their size and with proper padding around the fragile sections. 

Even the more standard items in your collection should never go into any old box. Start with plenty of packing material that is resistant to heat, prevents moisture, and fills the entire container evenly. Packing hay is one of the best choices for paintings and organic art pieces.

If you do not use customized shadow boxes, secure solid surfaces - like dismantled cardboard - on both sides of paintings and wrap evenly with twine or shrink wrap.

Avoid the temptation to bundle too much art into any container. Generally, pack paintings and larger wall art individually, even if items could fit together. Unusually shaped figurines and sculptures should have their own boxes or bins as well to avoid any potential touching. Smaller pieces may go together if you stabilize the entire set, such as with custom foam inserts.

Transport the Collection

The best way to actually transport valuable art is to work with professionals who have experience moving art of the type you own. Professionals will have the right equipment to move heavier or more fragile artwork safely. They also have experience packing it in the moving truck or cargo container in ways that will best secure it.

Remember to avoid placing flat art boxes horizontally or stacking them. Generally, you should always transport art with the right side up. This avoids placing undue pressure on the wrong parts. 

Finally, ensure that your collection will not have exposure to temperature extremes. Very valuable, very old, and very fragile objects may need climate-controlled transportation. Others should go in vehicles to allow ventilation in hot weather or added insulation in cold locales.

Want to know more about the right way to pack your particular artwork? No matter what it entails, the team at Helping Hands Movers can assist. We work with a wide variety of objects of all sizes, shapes, and values, and we can help you protect yours. Call today to make an appointment and discuss your needs. We look forward to helping you move your art collection safely and successfully. Let us know what questions you have.