The fragility of art has never been a secret, but it wasn’t until the 1970s that art packing and transport got serious, as museums began applying standards developed by the military and the electronics industry to packaging treasures. As art values shot skyward in the ’80s, a nyc art movers group of institutional professionals made an effort to codify the tricks of their trade. The effort resulted in “Art and Transit,” an international conference held in London in 1991. “If you have ever wondered what happens to the painting inside the packing case when it topples off the tailgate of a truck or is rammed by a forklift, then this was the conference for you,” reads a summary by the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works.
Moving art is especially difficult because of the very different nature of all the art. Fine art can be a small 10 by 10 painting and it can be a large 20 meters sculpture that is hanging from the ceiling of a big gallery. You obviously do not attack the problem the same way. Moving fine art is therefore considered as an art in itself because very often the solutions do not come already made in a text book. Experience and creativity comes in handy.