Monthly Archives - April 2016

NY relocation, let alone moving to another city or even country, is a challenging endeavor that additionally requires lots of time in preparation. Certainly, you can facilitate that task by ordering professional moving services that include both local transportation and high-quality packing and crating services. However, you may decide to save some money on self-pack when getting ready for a move. While some of your possessions can be quite simple to pack at home, you may still have difficulties with framed fine art pieces, fragile items, and big mirrors. The latter should be of particular attention not only because they are very delicate but also because of the “break a mirror, face seven years of bad luck” superstition. So let us give you some useful tips that will help you save your valuable items and the prosperity of your family.

Purchase packing supplies

Today, there is a great variety of packing supplies and materials you can easily buy online or in a nearby store. Surely, you may try different improvised home-use items for packing, but the truth is that it is much better to spend some money on quality packing supplies now to save money on potential damage later. You may need the following:

• polyethylene foam;
• telescoping box;
• bubble wrap;
• packing tape;
• Styrofoam.

All of these packing supplies are really good buys that practically guarantee a safe move.

Mind the corners

In case your mirror has 90º corners without any ornate frame, it is better to buy special corner protectors at a local shipping company or nearby frame store. You can also simply cut cardboard in order to fit those corners.

X marks the spot

To protect your mirror from shattering if dropped, put several pieces of packing tape over the glass area in an X shape. This will also protect the frame and prevent the glass from spilling into the box if the breakage does happen. 

Wrap the mirror carefully

Use cardboard on both sides of the mirror and then gently wrap it with the help of old sheets and towels. Secure the package with packing tape or bubble wrap. Tape well in full circles to make sure no parts can come loose. 

Never lay the mirror flat

When packing your mirror into a moving truck, make sure that it is positioned vertically. The fact is that mirrors should always be placed on the side, as they cannot take any pressure. So, if you want to prevent breakage, never lay your mirror flat, as well as never place it between too many items that can also cause damage. The best way is to put it between two heavy objects that won’t move around during transportation.

Don’t forget to label it properly

Label the package with “Mirror,” “Glass,” “Fragile items,” or something like that. Make this on all of the sides of the box to provoke attention. Besides, necessarily write which side the glass is so that your mirror can be treated in a proper way. 

Once you are familiar with all of these tips, the technique of packing a mirror is much easier to do. However, if you still have doubts, it’s better to order professional packing and crating services to ensure safe transportation. Please call Fine Art Shippers for any help.

People can and actually do collect almost anything. Magnets, works of fine art, antique furniture, vintage cars... This list is endless and depends only on each person’s financial capacity, interests, and preferences. Furthermore, all these things not just provide comfort – collecting them has become pleasurable in itself. The fact is that any collection regardless of its value is our legacy, something special of ourselves that we can leave behind. What is more, we start collecting things early in childhood and continue as we age – from shells gathered on the beach and different fragile items on our shelves to stay-at-home moms keeping track of their children’s toys and accouterments to curating a valuable collection of watercolor and oil paintings in the museum of modern art. Thus, thanks to this tendency, we all practice some form of collection management at one time or another during our lifetime.

All this becomes even more important when it comes to large and unwieldy collections of fine art. In such a case, collection management is crucial not only because you need to know where each object is at any given moment in time but also because of specific tasks related to its care, shipment, and distribution as well. In this way, professional collection management services are vital for dedicated art collectors and those who simply have no time or enough knowledge to properly take care of their fine art collection and its particular needs.

In this way, if you want to know all the details about your precious art objects, then a professional approach is exactly what you need! Here are just a few things you don’t need to worry about anymore if you choose collection management services:

• Deciding which items from your art collection require conservation services and when exactly this has to be done;
• Artwork transportation and handling;
• Providing required resources for financial art appraisal;
• Implementing proper collection insurance policy and its regular assessment;
• Tracking fine art pieces during their international or local transportation;
• Designing and finding appropriate spaces for exhibition purposes;
• Updating and creating inventories of the collection;
• Maintaining, designing, and procuring spaces for proper art collection storage.

That is exactly why professional collection management services are so invaluable for all dedicated art collectors and those who don’t know how to organize their acquisitions so that they could look more appealing. At Fine Art Shippers, we can easily help you with artwork transportation, storage, and handling while our reliable partners will take care of your collection management needs. In this way, no matter whether you are preparing for an exhibition, looking for a professional designer, or just want to know everything about your art collection – we are here to help! Visit our Services page to find out how we can assist you or just fill in our free quote to get the best possible offer!

It’s a well-known fact that a temporary change in location may spark new ideas or help refine those already generated. This is especially true when it comes to artists who create some of their most stunning fine art pieces while traveling around the world. Thus, if you are one of such artists, most likely you have art supplies and even partially completed projects stored in different places you work in. So let us give you some useful advice on how to store your art supplies and what exactly you can safely store for several seasons without damage.

Unfinished canvas art pieces

Partially completed paintings should be stored vertically on a special canvas art storage rack away from any risk of moisture damage. For this reason, the best you can do is to use a reliable museum-quality storage facility like the one offered by Fine Art Shippers. Secure, clean, and climate-controlled art storage is always a wise idea if you want to get your unfinished works of fine art safe and sound.

Paintbrushes

You can store your paintbrushes for many years as long as you keep them in good condition. All you should do is to carefully wash and dry them right after each use. Moreover, even if you usually use a paint thinner or water, a long-term art supplies storage requires a special brush cleaner. Besides, make sure you store your paintbrushes away from any leaky paint tubes.

Charcoal and chalk

Charcoal and chalk can be damaged by sudden and frequent changes in humidity levels. However, these art supplies can be stored for many years in case they are kept in airtight and waterproof plastic containers with lids.

Pencils

Pencils and colored pencils, especially those with soft wax content, can be easily damaged by moisture and heat. The fact is that these essential art supplies may lose their pigment potency or even melt if subjected to constant moisture and temperature changes. In this way, forget about storing them in an un-air-conditioned room or unheated garage. Climate-controlled art storage is the best option for high-quality pencils and other professional art supplies. 

Watercolor paints

You can store watercolor paints for a few months. As long as the paint tube is not dried out, it is good for the next season. So make sure you have wiped the excess paint off the dispenser and caps before leaving them for storage. Moreover, all of the paint tubes should be necessarily sealed tight.

Acrylic paints

Acrylic paints can be stored for 5+ years (some of them can last even over 10 years). To prepare them for art supplies storage, first of all, make sure that the tubes don’t have leaks. In case, there is a leak, use duct tape in order not to let air ruin the paint. Once you are sure there are no pinholes and leaks, wipe away any excess paint from each tube. For storage, you can use airtight, waterproof plastic containers.

Oil paints

Professional oil paints can last for 10 – 20 years or sometimes even longer, so you can easily store them at home. However, don’t forget about airtight plastic containers and temperature and humidity control, as heat and moisture may cause these art supplies to age faster. Use a cloth to wipe off the residue paint around each cap and screw them tightly before storing. Besides, it is recommended that you store oil paints cap end down.

In this way, if you want to extend the life of your art supplies and unfinished paintings, just follow the above tips or entrust this work to a professional art moving and storage company like Fine Art Shippers!

A monumental piece of canvas art by Childe Hassam depicting dozens of American flags has been donated to the New York Historical Society by Richard Gilder. It is one of the last paintings from the world-known “Flag” series to have remained in private hands.

Childe Hassam, a pioneer of American Impressionism noted for his urban and coastal scenes, was born in 1859. This talented artist began his career as a free-lance illustrator in Boston, but in 1886 moved to Paris to study at the prestigious Academie Julian. Three years later, he returned to the United States and settled in New York City. Childe Hassam quickly gained critical acclaim as his paintings grew in popularity.  Thus, by 1909 he was already enjoying great public success, earning $6,000 per work. Moreover, six of his awesome paintings were introduced at the legendary 1913 Armory Show that is widely credited for bringing modern art to New York. In general, during his lifetime, the artist created more than two thousand pastel, oil, and watercolor paintings, as well as a large number of prints. Childe Hassam died in East Hampton in 1935, at age 75.

The donated to the New York Historical Society canvas is the second work from the “Flag” series that consists of 30 paintings created during the period of 1916 to 1918. Originally named as “The Fourth of July, 1916,” it depicts Fifth Avenue decorated with Stars and Stripes during the Independence Day celebration in New York held in 1916 when people united by patriotism and love of country took to the streets to support the “Preparedness Movement” in anticipation of the imminent U.S. entry into World War I in Europe. This Hassam’s masterpiece of canvas art that is more than 3 x 2 feet in size very accurately conveys the people’s mood of that memorable day.

Although Childe Hassam is not the only artist who created flag-themed works (let’s just remember Claude Monet and Jasper Johns), his paintings depicting flags on New York’s most fashionable streets have a distinctly American character complemented with the artist's artistic vision and his own compositional style. The “Flag” series includes both, oil painting with the flags dominating in the foreground, as well as paintings with the flags that are just a part of the festive panorama. It’s interesting that Hassam’s famous “The Fourth of July, 1916” work first introduced at the New York’s Montross Gallery was also a part of Frank Sinatra’s art collection. However, today it is available to the public of the New York Historical Society. The Museum is going to host a traveling exhibition of fine art in the spring of 2017. It will coincide with the 100th anniversary of the U.S. entry into World War I. Moreover, you can also enjoy the Childe Hassam’s Flag paintings in the art collections of the National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.), the Princeton University Art Museum (Princeton, New Jersey), the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond, Virginia), and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City).