“Impressionism“, a new play on Broadway starring Jeremy Irons and Joan Allen, is a grand evening in the theater for fans of good acting. The play could itself use some work. And the art handling, is, well, amateur at best. Not that anyone would notice but a pro. Still, if you (attention playwright and director) are going to include a scene that has a supposedly high value artwork packed into a crate onstage by a supposedly professional art handling company, well, it should be done correctly.

 

In this case the art handlers wheel in an upright crate, take the painting off the wall (wearing gloves, thankfully), put it into a fabric bag (?) and then lower the painting-in-bag down into the crate through the open top, so that the painting disappears like your hard earned money down the slot in Vegas. Snap the top closed, get a signature, and off they go.

 

Problems? Well, they didn’t  inspect the painting before handing it, but that is a fine point. Unless there is a scratch on it and you are the insurer…The fabric bag is absolutely non standard, never seen one used like this ever. Fabric can catch on or stick to the face of a painting and deposit lint or other debris. Even if there is plexi over the face of a work, the fabric bag is still a bad choice as it is slippery and thus difficult to hold onto, and it can snag or tear on its journey into the crate.

 

Speaking of which, and this is the major point, artworks are not lowered into crates this way, for good reason: you can’t see what is happening to the piece! There could be loose materials or something shifted in the crate which would damage the artwork. A screw may have pushed through in transit or come loose in the crate. In most cases prepared crates are either laid flat or stood up, the front is removed, the crate inspected and made ready, the painting carefully fitted in under watchful eyes, and when all is safely braced the front of the crate is put on and off you go.

 

A somewhat more minor quibble, but in another scene Mr. Irons assists a purchaser, again of a major painting  ( $40,000) out to her offstage car with the artwork. No wrapping, she’s just going to presumably, what, toss it into the back of her SUV?

 

I am sure these faults will be corrected as legions of concerned art handlers line up outside the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater (236 West 45th Street, NY 10036) in protest. In the meantime I am available anytime Mr. Irons would like a private consultation.

 

 Betsy Dorfman

 

 

 

 

 

 

We will be updating a couple of times a week as noteworthy projects, articles, or art-related info comes our way. For those unfamiliar with our company, Fine Art Shipping is a comprehensive provider of art handling and shipping services to the professional community and to the general public. This is our 26th year in business but our very first blog! We envision this as a place where “civilians” as well as art nerds can come to see what we are up to in the very custom, and sometimes wacky, and always busy, world of art shipping.

We will provide information on art handling techniques and materials as well as links to artists, galleries, museums, exhibitions, and art events that cross our radar. We welcome feedback, suggestions for topics, and related links, always!

The other pages on this blogsite will tell you about our famous Los Angeles to San Francisco shuttle (see SHUTTLE) and give a rundown of our key players (ABOUT US). All other requests for our services information, quote requests, or art shipping queries should be directed to us through our website which offers a choice of ways to contact us and obtain such information. That is basically the “business end” and this is the fun stuff.

At FINE ART SHIPPING we get calls and emails every day from customers who describe their painting or other framed artwork as already “softpacked” or “softwrapped.”

Generically this means, what? Well, most basically it signifies that something is not crated or slat crated or enclosed in a rigid container but is instead, softwrapped. Somehow. With something.

Over the years we have seen “softpacked” interpreted to mean:

• wrapped in a flannel shirt, with or without tape to secure (watch those buttons!)
• plastic bagged in flimsy bags sporting the dry cleaner’s name and address (my favorite)
• used, very used, occasionally chewed, plastic sheeting draped over the frame
• cardboard corners, but otherwise entirely naked
• loose in a box with an afterthought of bubble wrap settled primly over the top (schoolteacher)
• beachballed in bubble wrap, and taped tightly all around as if more couldn’t hurt, but it can (any package you have to cut to open is risky, especially when guessing at the outline of the object within)
• gift tissue paper re-used, glitter and all

Here’s an object wrapped in plastic with a foreign object taped to the outside, potentially damaging the piece – unless it’s part of the piece, on the exterior of the package, with tape all over it.

This one is wrapped in some random plastic material which is too thin to provide adequate protection.

A used box with misleading printing, taped shut after it began losing its rigidity – fine for moving some stuff across town, but not for shipping art or other valuables.

Here is a piece wrapped in thin plastic, sealed with clear tape yellowed with age (clear-on-clear is a headache for the unpacker), and way too much of it – requiring a lot of knife work to remove.

This piece is popping out of its plastic wrap, exposing it to damage and the elements.

The plastic draped over this piece is used, torn, dirty, unsealed, too thin, and has out-of-date labels.

The “diaper paper” shown here is more gentle on some objects than it may appear in the photo, but sitting uncushioned in a flimsy, open cardboard tray leaves the piece open to damage. And a delicate artwork can be hiding under those messy paper folds haphazardly taped.

Not that all “civilian” packing is inadequate: often it is quite good and serviceable for the intended mode of transport.

Our favorite example of ingenious civilian packing is the customer who tells the story of relocating a world class collection of wedgewood china back in the fifties from the rural south up to Los Angeles in her car, without breaking a single of many hundreds of items. The secret archival material? Sanitary napkins! And she invited us to imagine the look on the faces of the pharmacists as she and her grey haired husband looted the shelves of every box they could find…

This collection was many years later packed and crated by FINE ART SHIPPING and sent off to auction at Sotheby’s London. It contained items so rare that the only similar or matching ones are in possession of the royal family.

There is no one single industry standard for “softpacking”, although there are basic guidelines and understanding of what this means. The condition, medium, value and fragility of the item itself along with consideration of the intended mode of transport are key ingredients; there is no one solution for an entire class of artworks.

But by and large a “softpacked” painting to a professional means that the contents, if a flatwork, is wrapped with a moisture barrier, then packed into a custom cardboard box that is created from sheets of cardboard cut to size to surround the artwork on all sides and edges. This is then taped closed and labeled as to the “face” side and correct orientation. This is also referred to as a “slipcase”.

Slipcases may have other ingredients such as:

• foam lining along the bottom of the pack to protect a heavy frame from its own weight
• wrapping of the artwork itself in glassine or dartek archival materials
• double cardboard over the “face” of the package for added protection
• collar wrapping or “shadow” boxing to allow for air circulation and/or to keep packing material from touching the face of textured, damp or unstable artwork
• glasskin taping over real glass to avoid damage to the artwork if the glass breaks in transit (glasskin is essentially oversized masking tape with an easily removable adhesive)

The elegance of a basic cardboard slipcase…

When traveling in the custody of professional art handlers, even a large slipcase like this can be a safe and economical alternative to crating.

Softpacks can take many shapes, and manufactured, double-wall cartons are often the best option for the job.

…even when a little modification is required.

Large or grouped softpacks are often palletized for greater protection in transit.

The custom pallet is a stronger, leaner and more efficient alternative to standard shipping pallets.

As with crating, the most important part of a softpack is the part that isn’t seen until it arrives safely at the destination.

Cardboard isn’t the only material used for rigid softpacks. When an object has special needs but crating isn’t an option, there is still a variety of archival and alternative packing materials to choose from.

It is important to let your art handler know exactly how your artworks will be wrapped when received. “Softpacked” can mean anything, and often does. If your carrier assumes this means slipcased, and you are operating in flannel shirt mode, this can create risk for the object if the service picking up is not prepared to further wrap the artwork or to return it to a warehouse where this can be done.

There are some prefabricated boxes which can be suitable for packing artworks and some which are eminently NOT suitable: we will have fun with those in a future post. Happy packing!

Betsy Dorfman