Caring For: Paintings
CCI has a variety of print and online resources to help with the care and conservation of paintings.
Basic Care
The following links to basic information of a general nature for the care and conservation of paintings.
CCI Notes
CCI Notes deal with topics of interest to those who care for cultural objects. Intended for a broad audience, CCI Notes offer practical advice about issues and questions related to the care, handling, and storage of cultural objects. Many CCI Notes are illustrated, and provide bibliographies.
- CCI Notes 10/1 Cleaning Paintings: Precautions (1995)
- CCI Notes 10/10 Backing Boards for Paintings on Canvas (1993)
- CCI Notes 10/11 Condition Reporting - Paintings. Part III: Glossary of Terms (1994)
- CCI Notes 10/12 Removing a Painting from its Frame (1993)
- CCI Notes 10/13 Basic Handling of Paintings (1993)
- CCI Notes 10/14 Care of Paintings on Ivory, Metal, and Glass (1993)
- CCI Notes 10/15 Paintings: Considerations Prior to Travel (1993)
- CCI Notes 10/16 Wrapping a Painting (1998)
- CCI Notes 10/17 Know Your Paintings-Structure, Materials, and Aspects of Deterioration (2002)
- CCI Notes 10/2 Making Padded Blocks (1995)
- CCI Notes 10/3 Storage and Display Guidelines for Paintings (1993)
- CCI Notes 10/4 Environmental and Display Guidelines for Paintings (1993)
- CCI Notes 10/5 Emergency Treatment of Water-Damaged Paintings on Canvas (1997)
- CCI Notes 10/6 Condition Reporting - Paintings. Part I: Introduction (1993)
- CCI Notes 10/7 Condition Reporting - Paintings. Part II: Examination Techniques and a Checklist (1993)
- CCI Notes 10/8 Framing a Painting (1993)
- CCI Notes 10/9 Keying Out of Paintings (1993)
CCI Technical Bulletins and Other Print Publications
Technical Bulletins provide detailed information of a specialized technical nature about selected conservation and care-of-collections topics, current techniques and principles of conservation of use to curators and conservators of cultural artifacts.
- TB # 23 Guidelines for Humidity and Temperature for Canadian Archives
- TB #26 Mould Prevention and Collection Recovery: Guidelines for Heritage Collections
Browse or buy other CCI Publications.
Additional CCI links and information that may be relevant to the care and conservation of paintings.
- Anatomy of a Treatment
- Before & After Galler: Treatment of Stranded by James Hamilton
- Before & After Gallery: Conservation Treatment of a 19th Century Oil on Canvas Painting
- Before & After Gallery: Conservation Treatment of Sussex Pastoral
- Before & After Gallery: Treatment of The Beached Margent of the Sea
- Before & After Gallery: Conservation Treatment of Two Hortense Gordon Paintings
- Before & After Gallery:Conservation Treatment of a Painting Depicting Louis IX, Saint and King of France
- Before & After Gallery:Conservation Treatment of Portrait of Egerton Ryerson
- Environmental Guidelines for Museums - Temperature and Relative Humidity (RH)
- Guidelines for Selecting and Using Coatings
- Is It or Isn't It? Scientific Examination of F 614 Reveals the Truth
- Ten Agents of Deterioration
- The Jasper Raven Totem Pole
- The Rewarding Challenges of Treating the Death of General Wolfe
- The Scientific Examination of the Sanders Portrait of William Shakespeare (painting on wood panel)
- The Virgin and Christ Child
- Treatment of a Pastel Portrait
Other heritage or conservation institutions also offer useful advice or helpful information that may be relevant to the care and conservation of paintings. These sites are external to CCI.
Still need help with the care and conservation of heritage objects?
Explore CCI’s Tools for things like measuring light damage, maintaining relative temperature and humidity, packing and shipping artifacts appropriately, and dealing with waterlogged wood.
If you are a heritage institution or heritage professional, you can also request a service, register for training, or contact CCI for conservation advice or assistance. CCI’s mandate is to support the Canadian heritage community in preserving Canada’s heritage collections so they can be accessed by current and future generations.
Members of the general public are encouraged to seek advice from conservators for the care of personal objects. Appraisers can help you with questions concerning the value of your personal objects.
If you are interested in learning more about the history of a personal object, you can contact your local museum. The Canadian Museums Association has an online list of museums across Canada searchable by name or province.
