The art collector's moving house checklist

Before you pack a single box, photograph and list every artwork you own, then pack each piece individually and keep paintings upright rather than flat. Moving house is one of the most common ways art gets damaged, and almost all of that damage is preventable with a little order before the lorry arrives. The checklist below works through it in the sequence you’ll actually need.

What should I do before anything gets packed?

Make a record of your collection before a single work comes off the wall. Walk round with your phone and photograph each piece, including the back, the frame edges, and any existing marks or wear. This serves two purposes: it gives you a condition record if something arrives damaged, and it becomes the inventory you check everything against at the other end. Note dimensions, medium, and roughly where each work currently hangs, so you can plan the new walls before you carry anything in.

This is also the moment to dig out paperwork. Certificates of authenticity, receipts, edition details, and any previous condition reports should travel with you, not in a random box. Keep them together in one folder you carry yourself.

How do I pack paintings and framed works safely?

Pack each framed work on its own and keep it vertical at every stage. If a piece is glazed, run a large strip of low-tack tape in an X across the glass; it won’t stop a knock but it holds shards together if the glass cracks, protecting the surface beneath. Wrap the work first in glassine or acid-free tissue so nothing acidic touches the surface, then add bubble wrap with the bubbles facing outward, and finally box it or sandwich it between rigid card. Tape the wrapping, never the artwork.

The single most important rule is that paintings travel upright, resting on a long edge, never laid flat and never stacked face to face. Flat stacking concentrates weight on the canvas or panel and is how dents, cracks and pressure marks happen. Unframed works on paper should go flat in a portfolio or between acid-free boards, which is the one sensible exception.

Treat the journey, not the wall, as the dangerous part. Most damage happens in the van and the doorway, not in storage.

What about sculpture, ceramics and three-dimensional work?

Three-dimensional pieces need the most padding and the most patience. Wrap ceramics and glass individually, fill every void inside the box so nothing shifts, and mark which way is up. Heavy sculpture should be crated or strapped securely and, where possible, carried by two people who know exactly how they’re going to set it down before they lift it. Detachable elements come off and travel separately, labelled, so they aren’t snapped under tension.

Should I move the art myself or hire specialists?

Decide piece by piece, weighing value and fragility against the cost of professional handling. A run of inexpensive prints can reasonably go in the family car. A large oil, a fragile ceramic, or anything you couldn’t replace is a different matter, and a specialist art shipper exists precisely because general removers are insured for furniture, not for collections. If you’d rather not move delicate work at all on the day, many framers and galleries offer secure handling, packing or short-term storage. Local framing specialists such as Art of Framing or Artisan Framing Ltd are a sensible first call for protective packing or a sturdy travel frame, and a home-focused gallery like Art and Home is the kind of place that understands living with work as well as selling it.

How should I handle insurance and the new home?

Tell your insurer before the move and check exactly what is covered in transit. Standard home contents policies frequently cap or exclude damage that happens while goods are being moved, so you may need to extend the policy or arrange separate transit cover. Confirm it in writing rather than assuming, and make sure any high-value pieces are individually listed if your policy requires it.

When you reach the new house, resist the urge to hang everything at once. Let works acclimatise for a day or two, especially if they’ve come from a cold van into a warm room, because sudden swings in temperature and humidity stress canvas, paper and panel alike. Unpack against your inventory, check each piece for new marks while the packing is still to hand, and only then start thinking about walls. Keep the most sensitive works away from radiators, direct sun and damp external walls.

What’s the short version?

Record it, pack it upright, insure the journey, and unpack slowly. If you photograph everything first, pack each work on its own, keep paintings vertical, sort the insurance before the van arrives, and let the collection settle before you hang it, you’ve removed almost every way a move goes wrong. A collection that took years to assemble deserves a few careful hours at each end.