Artwork and frame health checks

We’re all about protecting your artwork to ensure you can enjoy it for as long as possible, and the right frame is key to accomplishing that goal.

Whether it was framed decades ago, or recently, by us or another framer, we are more than happy to help with any question you have, be it about the state of your frame, the wear and tear of your artwork, or whether the frame is protective enough.

No query is too big or small.

What should I be looking out for?

There are many things that could have been done in the past that are not good for your art. Some things to look our for are:

• Foxing or paper discolouration: Older pieces that have been in their frames for a long time may be discolouring or foxing, which are signs of prolonged exposure to acidic boards, an acidic piece of art, or other environmental concerns like dampness or UV damage. Foxing appears as little brown spots throughout the artwork and discolouration can appear in many forms, for example yellowing or water damage staining.

• Artwork fading: Just like our skin, our artwork really suffers from our lack of ozone layer in New Zealand. Not only does work fade, but paper can discolour. This may be hard to notice if you live with it every day, but sometimes pulling it out of the frame will gives us more information.

• Valuable pieces being stuck down to a backing board: This is concerning for long term framing as it is not very protective and can devalue your art. Things like foxing mentioned above may occur over time. It is hard to analyse this without pulling it out of the frame.

• Artwork going wavy or condensation forming on the inside of the glass: This likely due to moisture and temperature concerns in the frames surrounding environment, which no frame can protect against but is a very important thing to try and prevent to protect it long term.