The front wheel of my bicycle was recently crushed in a collision with a car on my way to work. It being a lightweight road bike c. 1986, I figured I’d maintain the vintage and save money in the same stroke by getting another set of French mid-80s wheels. I love eBay.

I guess it’s good that Mavic wheels are known to be pretty much bomb-proof, because the package in which they arrived was barely fit for a local delivery. The front wheel (the one I need right away) has damaged spokes, but they can be replaced. I hope that’s the only reason why the rim looks almost as bad as the one that got run over.

The thing is, these wheels are really strong; so what went wrong here? Let’s take a look.

1. Though made for shipping wheels, the box was recycled from an earlier use. There’s a different brand printed on the outside, and what passed for interior packing had clearly lost its shape prior to this use.

2. Even if new, this type of packaging is designed to be supported by other significant factors; like bundling them in large numbers on a shipping pallet. It was clearly not designed for overseas travel on its own.

3. Due in part to the used packaging, the three parts being shipped were not adequately secured inside the box. A small bag holding the steel skewers was tossed in loose to jump around inside the box, and the hub of each wheel was jammed into the spokes of the other.

As a result, the box got crushed. The cogs of the rear wheel arrived poking a 5″ diameter hole through the box, and three spokes had somehow snapped off of the front rim.

As a bonus, the shipper decided to use stamps to send the box to California. From France. I hate eBay.

So how would I have packed this, assuming that a crate was not an option?

…Let me stress that the following solution is not something that we would do here at Fine Art Shipping. Unless the client was renting a dedicated shipping container to be loaded by us, we would insist on a full wood crate for international shipping. But let’s just say that I wanted to ship the wheels back on my own dime, while trying to mitigate further damage. Due to their odd size, I would start with a custom box, built from a couple sheets of double-wall cardboard.

1. I would cut two panels of 3/8″ plywood to reinforce the interiors of the two large walls of the box.

2. Then I would surround the wheels with 2″ bumpers of Ethafoam. I would stack another 1″ of foam on these bumpers and slot them for the wheel rims. This would keep the wheels separated and secure in their cushioning.

3. Finally I would bag and secure the third part – the skewers (wheel axles) – well away from the wheels. They could be embedded in the bottom foam bumper, or the bag could be screwed to the plywood sides.

C‘est la vie.

Hey, lookit these pretty stamps.

-Chris

We have mentioned previously the wisdom of providing the third dimension (the depth) for each two-dimensional artwork to be handled. But equally important is the issue of accurate dimensions. Having correct sizes is critical to crate pricing, and even moreso if crates are to be prebuilt in advance of actually receiving the artworks.

Very often we are provided with dimensions that are ten inches or more off the mark. You artists know who you are… Whether too high or too low, an estimate based on bad information is of little use to either the customer or the vendor. If the “wrong” dimensions are supplied for multiple works, as in a traveling exhibition, then the mistake just compounds and we all might as well just go out for a beer. After work, of course.

Some estimate requestors likely honestly believe that “close” is good enough or that a matter of inches one way or another won’t have a serious impact on pricing. But the truth is that when we design a crate we round up to the nearest 1/8″ inch in most cases. Or for an estimate, perhaps up to the nearest inch. But leeway of several inches? Never. The whole idea of a shipping crate for an artwork is to be custom built to the size of the work. And, believe it or not, too large is just as bad as too small.

When providing dimensions to an art handler the best approach is to supply each dimension labeled as to its correct orientation. For example: L 50 x W 3 x H 80. So if the artwork in question is a photograph that must travel right-side-up, the crating department will know how it must be crated, and any potential shipping issues due to height will be anticipated before it is time to ship the artwork. Send a photo of the work as well where possible, and of course indicate any condition issues that might require a custom or enhanced crating solution.

Guessing at the order of dimensions can be tricky. Many art shippers use art-world configuration of Height x Length x Width. But here at FAS we use the standard shipping configuration of Length x Width x Height in most of our notations, and we always indicate orientation with the letter designations to avoid confusion.

So give accurate dimensions, indicate the correct orientation, and provide as much information as possible about the artworks to be shipped. You will obtain an accurate estimate, and faster, too, as we won’t have to track you down to get more information.

Finally, if you are guessing at dimensions, confess! That way we may be able to offer you a couple of “what if” quotes and there will be less angst all around when that x- plus- ten -incher comes in the door.

Chris Barber & Betsy Dorfman

Here is a link to the complete article with further details:

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/southflorida/story/794402

Needless to say a situation like this is what every art shipper and art handling company works every day to avoid. Worse, there are potential problems collecting from insurers as the timing of the damage is unclear and the basic policy held by the artist apparently does not cover the full value of the artwork under all circumstances. Unfortunately these are critical but all too common mistakes. And while there is never a guarantee that artwork in transit will arrive safely, there are steps that can be taken both to minimize risk and to maximize the likelihood of recovery in the event of a loss.

This article raises many issues and in the next several posts we will examine a few of them, starting today with chain of custody and inspection protocols.

EVIDENT VS CONCEALED DAMAGE

In many cases when artworks are damaged in transit the cause of the damage is clear and matches up to corresponding damage seen on the exterior of boxes or crates. Boxes arrive with a corner crushed or with punctures, crates show evidence of forklift tine intrusion, seams or tops have popped, wood feet have come off etc. These are basic signs of possible mishandling enroute. These “exceptions” are noted on the carrier’s paperwork on arrival, and the damage is assumed henceforth to have occurred in the custody of that carrier who last received the packages in good condition. This is similar to the chain of custody used in police and forensic work. Once received the compromised package is then unpacked in a documented process with photos taken and witnesses at hand; if there is actual damage then to the artwork within, the insurer of record is contacted and the claims process begins. Sad, but at least there is financial recovery possible through insurance.

CONCEALED DAMAGE WAIVER

In the case of the Feuerman sculpture however, there appears to have been no obvious damage to the exterior of the crate. Upon opening the crate however the sculpture was found to be destroyed beyond repair. In shipping terms this situation is called “concealed damage”. Many types of insurance carry a disclaimer or waiver for concealed damage where the goods have been packed by the shipper and are uninspected by the carrier or insuring agent. If the airline had provided insurance, it likely carried such a waiver and so would not respond to a claim under these circumstances. This makes sense, logically, as they would have no way of knowing what was in the crate or its condition prior to taking custody. Big gray area there.

CHAIN OF INSPECTED CUSTODY

While there was a clear chain of custody for handling of the crate, there was no inspection of the artwork itself each time the crate changed hands. The crate apparently left custody of an overseas art handler, was shipped via air freight, handled at Newark airport, then trucked all the way to a receiving warehouse in Miami where it was put away until inspection at a later date by the art handler who was to deliver it to the exhibition. Hence a mammoth gray area i.e. when and where did the damage occur? And who is liable under these conditions?

YOU BROKE IT, YOU PAY, RIGHT? WRONG.

In shipping liability comes down to insurance and specifically, declared value. It doesn’t matter if the airline broke the sculpture if they did not insure it. They are responsible only for what is essentially salvage value unless insurance was purchased and a value declared. In fact most airlines and other freight companies do not insure original fine art. They are protected in their paperwork, signed at the time of shipping, from liability for damage caused in transit where they have not insured the goods. There are always nuances in insurance, and it is true that such an airline might have liability if they can be shown guilty of extreme negligence. If, for example. they left the crate at the wrong address or at a closed dock, or left it out in the rain. But so long as they performed the contracted service i.e. moved the crate from point A to point B according to the terms established with the booking party, they generally have limited liability. Hey, these are freight guys; they are paid to move freight and they moved the freight. Whadda ya want?

IN TRANSIT VS STATIONARY — not as simple as it sounds.

Next in line is the artist’s own policy, which states she can collect $100,000 maximum in transit and $400,000 maximum if the artwork was “stationary.” Oh boy, the attorneys are going to have fun with this one. Stationary usually means in storage, not being moved, in a stable and protected environment. Technically a shipment that has arrived at a warehouse along the way, but which has not yet been delivered to its final destination, is considered IN TRANSIT. Even if it isn’t being moved for a period of time. Under our fine arts all risk policy, in transit status can exist for up to 90 days. Gray area anyone?

Could this situation have been avoided? We’ll take a look at some possible remedies in a future post. In the meantime our sympathies to everyone involved; it is always awful to lose an artwork, period

Betsy Dorfman / FINE ART SHIPPING

Upon being asked some requesters seem surprised that the depth would matter. As if, having gone to the bother of telling us that the medium is fossilized possum teeth and pop rocks embedded in resin, how could the depth possibly be of interest? But typically in the end they indulge us and come up with something, oh all right, if you must know…. I have often wondered why this lapse is so frequent, as it seems so logical that artworks, being things, have three dimensions and take up three dimensions in what we like to call real life.

With paintings in particular however, this dimension seems to disappear from the interest radar. Perhaps it is because the depth, measurement back to front, can and does vary with the framing. But that is equally true of the length and height, to some extent. I think the answer more likely is that trained and museum personnel most often think in terms of image size rather than framed size. (Another question every fine art shipper needs to remember to ask!) Image size is their gold standard and depth is not considered. And this omission can and does persist when inventories are passed on for shipping quotes.

Also the depth is generally the smallest dimension of the three and so can seem insignificant. Emphasis on the “seem.” As shippers, we live and occasionally die by volume. Back in my rookie season I worked up a detailed estimate for a multi crate traveling exhibition of sixty or so artworks. Licking my pencil (metaphorically) and conquering my English major’s fear of spatial relations testing of any kind, I grouped the paintings by size, figured my crate dims and was good to go. Except, I failed to ask re image size versus framed size and, worse , I let the customer get away with giving me an “average depth” of 3 inches per artwork. Long story short, the artworks were framed in the most enormous heavy and ornate gilt frames I have ever seen. These babies each needed their own zip code. Every one was 6-8″ inches overall larger than I had estimated including back to front. The real killer, the budget buster, the oh-my-god-you-have-got-to -be-kidding-me element was the depth.

Things I took away from this experience:

• It helps to own the company, because you can’t be fired
• You can’t be fired, but you can be forced to ‘eat’ unusable crates. (No they never come in handy for something else. But we will get to that in another post)
• Average depth is defined as 5″ more than you could possibly imagine
• Customers are very nice except when ten crates turn into twenty
• Fear of spatial relations testing (which of these two hellish objects fits inside this other completely useless diagram) is a reliable predictor of intelligence
• Image size is for politicians, not art shippers
• All correspondence with estimate requesters should begin with “what is the third dimension” and end with “so help you god.”

Betsy Dorfman / Fine Art Shipping