Dry, cool and clean is the answer in a nutshell. Paintings, whether oil or acrylic or watercolor need temperature stabilization, protection from insects and dust, and no moisture, mold or mildew possibilities. This is fairly easy in a contemporary home or offices, a bit harder in certain vintage abodes. Main-floor closets or dry basements are best. Ventilation is preferred. UV-protected or minimal lighting is optimal.

You can build a simple rack for storage, allowing air-flow and space for some wrapping to prevent dust or abrasion, with wood or metal tubing. A bit of cotton batting or linen or canvas padding beneath frames can prevent damage. Moving pads are good, if natural fibers (acid-free.) Keep paintings in the dark, off the floor, and safe from insects...tuck a few mothballs around, if you do not have a really tight, rodent & insect-free space. Acid-free mat-board or foam-board is ideal for buffering between frames or canvases. If limited, store them back-to-back and front-to-front; then put something acid-free between the front-to-front items. Several great American museums have very nice cotton-canvas-padded, metal roller-dollies for their paintings, just sliding them into slots in a storage room.

Most stored paintings are framed, but if not, the canvas can be kept off the floor ( in more humble circumstances) on urethaned wooden 2 x 4's or PVC tubing and protected from oxidation and dust by the urethane or PVC and wrapping with acid-free paper, or cotton or linen sheeting. Paintings should be stored vertically, which allows for better space-usage as well as preventing sagging in the middle or punctures. Watercolors of value should be kept in the dark, and carefully stored in a dry environment, removed from glass frames and stored flat, archivally, if for any length of time.

Museums use climate-controlled, monitored storage rooms, but you can keep watch and adjust your home storage accordingly. De-humidifiers or absorbent clays can do the trick. Conservationists can be consulted if any damage has occurred, but most paintings are sealed and fairly sturdy, and can be cleaned or restored unless really far-gone.

The worst threats are insects, mold, and punctures from mishandling. Common sense goes a long way to storing those valuable paintings, yet we mostly want to just enjoy them, as intended. Rotating your art collection is a good compromise, keeping the fragile mediums (ie: watercolor or very old oils) out of direct sunlight. Have anything really valuable evaluated by a conservator. Unless extremely rare, art is meant to be seen, so show it.

Learn more about this author, Andrea Theisson.
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