Excerpt from the Journal of Advanced Appraisal Studies

Jo Desmond, ASA wrote a very good article for the Journal of Advanced Appraisal Studies entitled Framed Works on Paper - What to Look for Under the Dust Covers. Jo is an ASA appraiser from Belfast Maine and has 35 years experience as a professional artist, gallery owner, and conservation picture framer specializing in traditional French matting. I believe many appraiser will find Jo's article of great use during inspections.

To order a copy of the Journal click HERE. There is over 300 page and 20 articles all related to appraising personal property. So far I have excerpts from about half of the Journal posted to the AW Blog. More great content and insight from Journal articles to come over the next several weeks.

Excerpt of article by Jo Desmond, ASA


What Could Be Inside

Not all signs of damage are obvious to the naked eye. An appraiser should not assume that because the art looks good on the surface, that all is well inside the frame. Non-archival framing treatments can cover a “multitude of sins.” So can new archival framing on previously framed art. Here are some things that may not be visible:

• Trimmed, torn, folded, or repaired margins - Damage caused by poor or inexpert handling. Amateur repairs to tears usually include tapes that are not archival and difficult to remove without causing further damage. Repairs to works of art on paper should be left to conservation experts.

• Tapes - Art affixed to window mat or backboard with non-archival materials like glue, masking tape, scotch tape, clear packing tape, filament-infused strapping tape, or silver duct tape. The tapes may still be attached to the art; or if removed there may be residue from deteriorated adhesive or remains of the former mount. The removal of the tape may also have disturbed the paper surface.

• Dry mounting - Important artwork permanently mounted to non-archival as well as archival rag board by a well meaning framer may adversely affect value if this is not what the artist intended. Heat-activated glues are not safe for art. This practice is discouraged as mounting of this type is mostly irreversible and as the art has been altered in the process, so unfortunately has the value. A common request from framing clients over the years has been to permanently flatten art work by mounting to a back board to keep works on pa-per from appearing wrinkled or warped. With decorative items that are not expected to have more than personal enjoyment, like inex-pensive reproductions, posters, and children’s school art, dry-mounting is not an unacceptable custom.

• Non-archival backing and fillers - Such as corrugated cardboard, wood-pulp matboard, non-archival foam core, old newspapers, thin wooden boards; chipboard, beaverboard, or Masonite.

• Art itself is not archival - Some artists produce work on materials that were not made to last. For example, paintings on cardboard, Kraft paper, and other acidic papers.

• Fading - Faded paper and pigments caused by poor lighting condi-tions or storage. This will be readily apparent where there is a con-trast in color between the image area that has been exposed to the light and the margins which have been obscured by the picture mat. Depending on the type of paper, the backing materials utilized and the amount of light exposure, the image area will either appear darker or faded. The paper support can also suffer from browning, yellowing, fading or becoming brittle.

• Color change - Color and physical damage to works on paper is caused by intense or long periods of exposure to high levels of day-light and fluorescent light, both containing harmful ultra-violet radiation. There are a number of watercolor pigments that are considered to be non-lightfast. Paint manufacturers have made great strides in the recent past to correct this but it is still not wise to expose watercolors to extreme lighting conditions. For example, yellows and blues often do not retain their integrity, and greens can appear bluer than they once were because the yellow in the paint mixture has faded. Additionally, blues can become greenish because the watercolor paper beneath has yellowed from light exposure.

• Acid Migration - Frame backings, mounting and matting materials that have a yellow or brownish cast to them along cut edges, wood-en backing boards, corrugated cardboard, and smooth pressed paper mounting boards are usually acidic. Direct contact with materials containing wood pulp and certain adhesives can cause damage to art work. This can occur when harmful acids are emitted and migrate to the surface of the art.

• Mat burn - Darkened areas on art which correspond with the be-veled edges of the acidic matboard.

• Flutes - Light and dark striped patterns on paper caused by contact with brown corrugated cardboard.

• Stains - Discolorations caused by adhesives such as rubber cement, mucilage, masking tapes, filament-infused strapping tape, clear cello adhesive tape and gummed tapes. Much of this staining can be permanent.

• Soiling or markings - Caused by poor handling, this includes fin-gerprints, scuff marks, or abrasions left by erasers. For example, one print dealer client regularly brought me works to be framed that had faint red scuff marks along the bottom margins that could not be removed. She had a habit of wearing red nail polish and the polish rubbed off on the prints during handling.

• Foxing - Reddish or brown spots possibly caused by high humidity, fungal growth, or the oxidation of iron particles or other substances inherent in the paper.

• Mold or mildew - Caused by exposure to high humidity, storage in damp areas such as basements, having been hung against exterior walls subject to roof leaks or on a porous brick wall over a fireplace.

• Insect infestation - Evidenced by holes eaten into the paper, small areas gouged out of the substrate and the loss of certain color pigments. Insects love certain types of glue and some paints.