Conservation and Museum Framing

What is conservation framing and museum framing?

Conservation and museum framing use special techniques and materials in order to preserve and protect artwork in the condition that it was in before framing. Conservation level framing should be used on originals and Museum level framing should be used on valued originals.

Examples of conservation framing include:

Using PH neutral materials, such as conservation mountboard; acid-free reversible tapes and hinging papers; acid-free backing board and barrier board.

Examples of museum framing include all of the above plus:

Cotton-core museum mount board, glass with UV protection

Why should you use conservation or museum framing?

Using the wrong materials can dry out, discolour and permanently damage artwork.

For example, even using standard masking tape (one of the more common faults that we see) to hinge the artwork to the mount will result in the paper drying out causing it discolor and become brittle.

A large number of mounts and backing boards are not acid-free. Older mats (wood based paper) are typically acidic, because acid-free paper was not widely available or marketed until recent years. Acidic mats can cause what is called mount burn, brown marks that creep in from the outside onto the displayed piece itself. While mount burn is sometimes reversible through cleaning the piece, cleaning may not be feasible if the piece was executed in water-soluble inks or paints, such as watercolor. Therefore it is important to use an acid-free mount if long-term protection is desired

Not all picture framers use conservation techniques - we often have to repair badly framed work that has been framed elsewhere! All of our materials are acid-free!