Installation view of “Storage Wars” at The Hole, 2023. Photo by Z. Fred Chen. Courtesy of the artists and The Hole.
The value of fine art storage cannot be underestimated when it comes to protecting the value of your collection. From conservation and climate control to transportation and insurance, proper fine art storage beyond the confines of your own home requires careful management and consideration.
Incorrect or careless storage of your collection can be hazardous to artworks where damage like mold, fading, warping, and yellowing can occur. These kinds of physical damage, if left untreated, can lead to a loss of monetary or aesthetic value.
Storing your collection in a dedicated fine art storage facility is therefore a strongly recommended and worthwhile investment. “With proper installation, maintenance, and storage, a collector’s investment can continue to grow without the need of costly restoration or conservation,” explained Brian Regan, gallery director at Heather James Fine Art. “Having artworks in storage also allows you to rest more sensitive works by rotating art in and out of a collection, which is especially beneficial for works on paper.”
Courtesy of Crown Fine Art.
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Before your collection enters a storage facility, it is important to prepare your artworks. Soliciting the advice of a trained conservator and carrying out condition checks is a useful place to start. “Think of long-term issues now,” advised Lauren Fly, a specialist paintings conservator at the Fly Arts Initiative and a member of the American Institute for Conservation. “It is more cost-effective to do preventive work, rather than active conservation and interventive work, and prevention is also far less invasive for the art object itself.”
Ensuring that you have a record of the condition of your artworks before they are transported to storage is imperative for insurance purposes, and for your own collection management records. “This is just one step a collector can take before their artworks go into storage to be confident that any damages will be accounted for,” Fly explained. If you have taken out a separate fine art insurance policy, for example, you might be subject to specific condition checking and storage recommendations that you should take into consideration.
Just as important is the individual stabilization of artworks. “Different mediums and works require specific needs,” explained Samantha Springer, an objects conservator at Art Solutions Lab and board member of the American Institute for Conservation.
“Contemporary objects with plastics and modern materials are more sensitive to potential damage when in contact with certain materials, and textiles require specific climate control due to their fragility,” she told Artsy. “It is imperative that you seek advice from a trained conservator on which materials will pose minimal threat when wrapping your artworks before storage.”
A UOVO private storage facility. Photo by Halkin/Mason Photography. Courtesy of UOVO.
Both Fly and Springer pointed to the widely recognized “Ten Agents of Deterioration,” developed by the Canadian Conservation Institute, as an all-encompassing checklist for where damage can occur on artworks. “These include dissociation, fire, incorrect relative humidity, incorrect temperature, light and ultraviolet light, pests, pollutants, physical forces, theft, and water,” said Fly. “Some of these are outside of your control, but with others, preventive care can come in.”
While a conservator can advise on the precise conditions required to store your artworks safely, it is essential to find a reputable art storage facility that will work with you to meet the specific needs of your collection. “Preserving a collection calls for a thoughtful approach,” said Alexandra Kelly, VP of sales at fine art storage specialists UOVO. “Storage is central to proper collections management and requires a committed partner. When deciding on an art storage provider, collectors should consider the quality of the facility, location, accessibility, climate, security, expertise, and level of client service.”
The key to safe art storage is a rigorously monitored environment with strict temperature, humidity, and light exposure controls, where optimal storage environments can be maintained around the clock. Old Master paintings or contemporary works with heavy oil paint require precise climate controls, unlike stone sculptures, for example, which do not require strict humidity and temperature controls. “In all instances, consistency is the key,” Kelly said. “Fluctuations in temperature or humidity will compromise any artwork in storage.”
Courtesy of Crown Fine Art.
Generally, there are two primary kinds of storage available to collectors from professional fine art storage facilities: general or concierge storage; and private rooms. With general storage, there are a number of clients’ works stored in the same area, and space tends to be charged per meter and week. With private storage, a client will pay for their collection to be stored in its own dedicated space. Depending on how frequently you wish to access your collection, it may also be important to choose a facility that is conveniently located.
“Private rooms are ideal for clients who prefer direct or frequent access to their collection and are desirable for collections that necessitate bespoke solutions,” said Kelly. The advantage of private rooms is that they can be designed to meet the exact needs of the collection, including racking, lighting, flooring, and enhancements such as a photography studio or office space. On the other hand, concierge storage is a more cost-effective option for collectors with temporary or fluctuating storage needs.
Transportation to and from storage facilities is another key consideration for any collector. “The most damage occurs to artworks when they are in transit,” said Micky Roberts, head of local movement and storage at logistics firm Crown Fine Art. “Ensure that you choose a service with ICEFAT [International Convention of Exhibition and Fine Art Transporters] membership when shipping your artworks across organizations, and their service will meet museum-level requirements at a minimum.”
Installation view of “Storage Wars” at The Hole, 2023. Photo by Z. Fred Chen. Courtesy of the artists and The Hole.
Just as with choosing a storage facility itself, there are multiple options for transportation. Collectors with works of very high value may choose an exclusive shuttle option, meaning only the artworks belonging to that client are on the vehicle. Collectors mostly choose to transport their artworks all together as a cost-efficient method that also maintains a high level of safety.
It’s also important for collectors to keep on top of the value of their artworks, Roberts noted. “While your collection is in storage, artwork appraisals should be carried out every two years,” he said. “As your artworks change value, this might change your storage needs according to your insurance policy. If an artwork is under or overinsured this can be held against you or reduce a collection’s value.”
Installation view of “Storage Wars” at The Hole, 2023. Photo by Z. Fred Chen. Courtesy of the artists and The Hole.
Bringing artists’, galleries’, and collectors’ artworks out of storage and back to life is Los Angeles gallery The Hole, which is staging an unusual exhibition entitled “Storage Wars” through the end of August. The exhibition shows artworks in their storage crates, repurposed as frames and plinths, stacked high to the gallery ceiling, and opened for display.
“This show will feel like poking around the most amazing art storage ever,” said the gallery’s founder, Kathy Grayson, who explained her motivation for the show: discovering that many artworks in museums and private collections are kept in storage for long periods of time and hardly ever see the light of day. “‘Storage Wars’ grants visitors a peek inside the shipping crate, a hand-fabricated vessel that protects—and all too often entombs—some of the best and most precious works of art.”
LONDON (AP) — With a few daubs of a paintbrush, the Brontë sisters have got their dots back.
More than eight decades after it was installed, a memorial to the three 19th-century sibling novelists in London’s Westminster Abbey was amended Thursday to restore the diaereses – the two dots over the e in their surname.
The dots — which indicate that the name is pronounced “brontay” rather than “bront” — were omitted when the stone tablet commemorating Charlotte, Emily and Anne was erected in the abbey’s Poets’ Corner in October 1939, just after the outbreak of World War II.
They were restored after Brontë historian Sharon Wright, editor of the Brontë Society Gazette, raised the issue with Dean of Westminster David Hoyle. The abbey asked its stonemason to tap in the dots and its conservator to paint them.
“There’s no paper record for anyone complaining about this or mentioning this, so I just wanted to put it right, really,” Wright said. “These three Yorkshire women deserve their place here, but they also deserve to have their name spelled correctly.”
It’s believed the writers’ Irish father Patrick changed the spelling of his surname from Brunty or Prunty when he went to university in England.
Raised on the wild Yorkshire moors, all three sisters died before they were 40, leaving enduring novels including Charlotte’s “Jane Eyre,” Emily’s “Wuthering Heights” and Anne’s “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.”
Rebecca Yorke, director of the Brontë Society, welcomed the restoration.
“As the Brontës and their work are loved and respected all over the world, it’s entirely appropriate that their name is spelled correctly on their memorial,” she said.
In a case that has sent shockwaves through the Vancouver Island art community, a local art dealer has been charged with one count of fraud over $5,000. Calvin Lucyshyn, the former operator of the now-closed Winchester Galleries in Oak Bay, faces the charge after police seized hundreds of artworks, valued in the tens of millions of dollars, from various storage sites in the Greater Victoria area.
Alleged Fraud Scheme
Police allege that Lucyshyn had been taking valuable art from members of the public under the guise of appraising or consigning the pieces for sale, only to cut off all communication with the owners. This investigation began in April 2022, when police received a complaint from an individual who had provided four paintings to Lucyshyn, including three works by renowned British Columbia artist Emily Carr, and had not received any updates on their sale.
Further investigation by the Saanich Police Department revealed that this was not an isolated incident. Detectives found other alleged victims who had similar experiences with Winchester Galleries, leading police to execute search warrants at three separate storage locations across Greater Victoria.
Massive Seizure of Artworks
In what has become one of the largest art fraud investigations in recent Canadian history, authorities seized approximately 1,100 pieces of art, including more than 600 pieces from a storage site in Saanich, over 300 in Langford, and more than 100 in Oak Bay. Some of the more valuable pieces, according to police, were estimated to be worth $85,000 each.
Lucyshyn was arrested on April 21, 2022, but was later released from custody. In May 2024, a fraud charge was formally laid against him.
Artwork Returned, but Some Remain Unclaimed
In a statement released on Monday, the Saanich Police Department confirmed that 1,050 of the seized artworks have been returned to their rightful owners. However, several pieces remain unclaimed, and police continue their efforts to track down the owners of these works.
Court Proceedings Ongoing
The criminal charge against Lucyshyn has not yet been tested in court, and he has publicly stated his intention to defend himself against any pending allegations. His next court appearance is scheduled for September 10, 2024.
Impact on the Local Art Community
The news of Lucyshyn’s alleged fraud has deeply affected Vancouver Island’s art community, particularly collectors, galleries, and artists who may have been impacted by the gallery’s operations. With high-value pieces from artists like Emily Carr involved, the case underscores the vulnerabilities that can exist in art transactions.
For many art collectors, the investigation has raised concerns about the potential for fraud in the art world, particularly when it comes to dealing with private galleries and dealers. The seizure of such a vast collection of artworks has also led to questions about the management and oversight of valuable art pieces, as well as the importance of transparency and trust in the industry.
As the case continues to unfold in court, it will likely serve as a cautionary tale for collectors and galleries alike, highlighting the need for due diligence in the sale and appraisal of high-value artworks.
While much of the seized artwork has been returned, the full scale of the alleged fraud is still being unraveled. Lucyshyn’s upcoming court appearances will be closely watched, not only by the legal community but also by the wider art world, as it navigates the fallout from one of Canada’s most significant art fraud cases in recent memory.
Art collectors and individuals who believe they may have been affected by this case are encouraged to contact the Saanich Police Department to inquire about any unclaimed pieces. Additionally, the case serves as a reminder for anyone involved in high-value art transactions to work with reputable dealers and to keep thorough documentation of all transactions.
As with any investment, whether in art or other ventures, it is crucial to be cautious and informed. Art fraud can devastate personal collections and finances, but by taking steps to verify authenticity, provenance, and the reputation of dealers, collectors can help safeguard their valuable pieces.
