Protect Your Fine Art From Soot and Heat Damage

In Britain we love to talk about the weather and this week one of the key influencing factors of our blog post is the appalling British summer we’ve experienced this year. It may be almost August when we would expect warm temperatures and glorious sunshine but unfortunately Mother Nature has not been kind this year and people are resorting to lighting their fires in the cool evenings in an attempt to eliminate the chill in the air. However this can have a dramatic, negative effect on your art work.

There are two main types of damage that can be caused to your fine art by open fires in the home. The first is soot damage. This is caused by the burning of any materials from coal to paper or wood. It leaves tiny black particles of soot in the air which will create a fine layer on canvases, paintings and other pieces of art. Soot is extremely hard to remove without causing further damage so make sure your pieces of fine art are covered when you light an open fire and remained covered for a few hours after the fire has died out. Better still, we recommend removing them from the room entirely to ensure their safety.

The second type of damage caused by open fires is heat damage. High temperatures, especially sudden extremes of temperature can cause wooden frames, canvases and other pieces of art to warp, damaging them beyond repair. We recommend never putting a picture above a fireplace or any other piece of fine art anywhere near an open fire or radiator to prevent damage from occurring.
We hope you’ve found these tips useful and welcome any feedback you may have.