Transporting Paintings and Frames
By Allison Eklund, December 2019
OPM has offered increasing opportunities for members to exhibit paintings, and these exhibits often require coordination of painting delivery and pickup by volunteers. Please use this guide to help protect your paintings and frames from damage and provide volunteers greater confidence in their ability to safely transport each other’s work.
Boxes and Crates
Some painters have devised their own system for transporting framed paintings by re-using frame boxes, purchasing specialty fine-art shipping boxes, or manufacturing their own crates. Any of these can be acceptable, but please follow the guidelines below for identification and weight, and especially make sure your box or crate is secured shut so that paintings will not fall out.
Painting Bags
An increasingly popular and affordable option is to wrap paintings or frames in reflective bubble insulation using duct tape. These materials may be purchased online or from a hardware store. Wrapped paintings take up minimal space and can be transported individually or in a group without fear of scratching each other. Use common sense and ensure that bags are securely closed or transported upright so that paintings don’t fall out. Whatever you choose to protect your paintings en route to or from exhibits, please always remember these guidelines to avoid accidental damage, loss, or misidentification:
Label your container with your full name, address, email and phone number
Make sure your container is not too heavy to lift unassisted
Make sure your container is securely closed or transported upright so that paintings will not fall out
Make sure your paintings inside are each labeled with appropriate identification for (or from) the exhibit.
Guidelines for Volunteers
When volunteering to help transport paintings, please remember to follow these procedures:
Transporting to an Exhibit:
Keep an electronic and printed copy of contact information and painting inventory for each person whose paintings you are transporting, which should be provided by the exhibit coordinator or painter.
Transporting from an Exhibit:
If volunteers are asked to help remove paintings from the gallery or display, keep painting labels with each painting and place any ribbons, certificates, awards, and gallery inventories in the shipping container with the painting(s).
Send a quick text or email to each painter whose work you are transporting when you leave the exhibit.
Keep an electronic and printed copy of contact information and painting inventory for each person whose paintings you are transporting, which should be provided by the exhibit coordinator, gallery, or painter.
