Caring for an Oil Painting: Cleaning, Hanging and Storage

The short answer: how to clean it

Routine care for an oil painting at home comes down to one job: dry dusting. Use a wide, soft, natural bristle brush or a lint free microfibre cloth, tilt the painting slightly forward and work from top to bottom. Once a month is enough.

Wet cleaning, detergent, glass cleaner, alcohol, olive oil, saliva and the rest of the methods circulating online have no place in a living room. Every one of them risks dissolving the varnish and the paint with it, and once a paint layer thins it does not come back. If there is more than dust on the surface, it is a conservator's job.

If your painting is new, keep it away from any moisture for the first year. The paint is still drying.

Varnished versus unvarnished

Varnish is a thin, removable shield sitting on top of the paint. Dirt and soot settle on the varnish rather than the paint. In conservation that varnish is dissolved and replaced while the paint stays untouched.

That is why a varnished painting can be wiped with a barely damp microfibre cloth, and by damp I mean wrung out until it is almost dry. On an unvarnished painting even that is off limits.

Ask the artist whether the piece you bought has been varnished. If it has not, having it varnished once the recommended waiting time is up protects it for the long run.

Where not to hang it

• On a wall in direct sunlight. Ultraviolet light fades pigments and yellows varnish. The damage accumulates and cannot be reversed.
• Directly above a radiator, fireplace or air conditioner. Sudden temperature swings tighten and slacken the canvas and open cracks in the paint.
• On bathroom or kitchen walls. High humidity breeds mould behind the canvas, while steam and cooking grease leave a sticky film on the surface.
• On the inner face of an exterior wall, especially a north facing one. The cold wall causes condensation behind the canvas.

The safest spot is an interior wall with indirect light and a stable temperature through the day.

Hanging height and clearance

The centre of the painting should sit 145 to 155 centimetres from the floor. That is average eye level and the measurement galleries use. Above a sofa, leave 15 to 25 centimetres between the bottom edge of the frame and the top of the backrest.

Hold the painting a finger's width off the wall. Two small felt pads stuck to the lower corners allow air to circulate and stop the piece from tilting.

Use LED lighting at roughly a thirty degree angle. Halogen bulbs heat the surface, and light coming straight down glares off the brushwork.

Humidity and temperature

The ideal range for an oil painting is 40 to 60 percent relative humidity at 18 to 24 degrees Celsius. What actually causes damage is not the absolute figure but sudden change. Canvas swells with moisture and contracts as it dries, and that movement wears the paint layer out.

A hygrometer is the cheapest protection you can buy. If winter heating drops humidity below 25 percent, a bowl of water or a humidifier in the room helps.

Why yellowing, cracking and flaking happen

• Yellowing: usually the natural oxidation of linseed oil plus ageing varnish. Paintings kept in the dark yellow more, and a few days in indirect daylight can reverse mild cases. Permanent yellowing is dealt with by replacing the varnish.
• Fine web cracking: caused by a reversed layer order, fat paint under lean. This is structural and has nothing to do with cleaning.
• Flaking and lifting: a weak ground or moisture reaching the canvas from behind. At the first sign, lay the painting flat and call a conservator.
• Whitish bloom on the surface: varnish clouding in a humid environment. Do not try to fix it yourself.

Moving and storing

Always carry a painting by the two side edges of its frame, never by the top edge and never by the canvas itself. A finger pressed into canvas leaves a permanent mark on the other side.

When packing, put glassine or acid free tissue against the surface first, then bubble wrap, then card with corner protectors on the outside. Never let bubble wrap touch the paint directly; the bubbles print into the surface in warm conditions.

For long term storage, keep paintings upright rather than stacked flat. Put card between them, raise them a few centimetres off the floor, and stay out of basements and attics.

When to call a conservator

If paint lifts when touched, if a crack is spreading, if there is flaking, a water stain, a tear or a varnish attempt that went wrong, stop. Oil painting conservation is specialist work done with reversible materials. Every home remedy tried first makes the conservator's job more expensive.

Works from Peck Art Studio

Before you take a piece home you can see its technique, size and materials on its page. For painted works, just ask us whether the piece has been varnished and how long it still needs to wait — knowing that is the simplest way to treat it well in its first year.

You can browse the works in the gallery, or send a custom request for a size and palette you have in mind. Share a photo of the wall it is going on and we will settle the dimensions and framing together.