As a professional Art Handler in New York City there are many challenges one runs into on an almost daily basis from paintings and objects either constructed in a studio or purchased by a collector without large enough doorways, elevators, or stairwells, to sensitive works which have to be suspended with minimal contact between the actual work of art and the packing material, all the while contending with traffic, loading zones, docks, etc. Needless to say, when you run into a single job that has several of these elements involved it becomes a more interesting challenge.

We were recently contacted to collect and remove three large, wet paintings from an artist’s studio for transport. Two of the works were able to be placed into Travel-frames on site and removed from the studio, but the third had to be folded to be removed. As I’m sure most art handlers are aware, standard practice for folding a painting includes a Sonotube running the length of the folded area to provide stability and braces to lock the tube and stretcher bars into place and hold it there while the work is moved out.

In order to perform this wet fold we didn’t have the option of anything coming into any contact with the painted surface, so we fabricated two wooden half-circles out of ¾ in plywood to ensure its rigidity (They basically ended up looking like wooden tombstones). These were then braced into place by 1×6’s extending horizontally off of the plywood, and 2 more 1×6’s at each of the edges to wrap around the stretcher bars both providing the necessary distance from the painted edge (contacting only the unpainted portion of excess canvas) and to lock everything into place.

For starters, we held the painting upright in order to undo the staples and begin to separate the two stretcher halves in the center. The painting was then laid down (face up) being careful to support the freed middle sections of the stretcher, so that we could pull away the loosened canvas and separate the top and bottom sections of the stretcher bars. Very carefully we then began lifting one side of the painting to stand on the meeting ends of the separated stretcher bars. Then the same with the second half, being sure to keep the canvas taught and steady at the freed ends so as to prevent any buckling in the unsupported areas.

At this point we start to brace the stretchers into place. Beginning with the tombstones of ¾ plywood we carefully place the rounded edge on the unpainted portion of the un-stretched canvas to give some form to the fold.

The sides of the support apparatus are screwed into the stretcher bars, the excess canvas is pulled snugly around the wooden form, and then stapled into place so the canvas does not shift.

A second, lower brace is added to the plywood at this point to use as leverage so that we could pull the bottom of the half-circle of plywood tighter, allowing the canvas to keep its shape and stay in place while it is transported.
Additional 1×6 braces were then added along the top edge of the folded structure (Which are actually the two sides of the painting) to keep everything securely in check. The painting was then ready for some light wrapping of poly and cardboard so it could be removed from the location and secured into our truck.

In the end, while not necessarily the ideal way to transport a painting, and definitely only a short-term solution from point A to B, a wet fold is not impossible. It just takes some planning, careful attention and clear communication by all hands that are assisting. And obviously, it isn’t something that should be rushed.