How Light Affects Art

2011-07-19T00:12:00.000-07:00

All visible and ultraviolet light will cause art to fade, and sadly, fading is irreversible. The only way to keep art from fading at all is to keep it in total darkness. Because this is an unsatisfying solution when what we want is to look at the art we have collected, we as the framers and you as the steward can help to minimize the damage light does to art by the glazing we use and the lighting you use to illuminate the work. Fading can be accelerated by certain pigments being more fugitive than others and by the quality of the work's support, but for now I will only address the impact light has on fading.

How much light is best?

Visible light is measured for our purposes in footcandles, which is a unit of illuminance equivalent to the illumination produced by a source of one candle at a distance of one foot. The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston recommends five footcandles for viewing art, which is roughly a 150 watt incandescent bulb placed about five feet from the work.

What kind of light is best?

Neodymium, sometimes referred to as full-spectrum, shows the art in its truest colors. The glass bulb is delicately colored in the melt with neodymium oxide, a rare-earth element. (Although it is classified a rare-earth element, neodymium is in fact not rare at all.) These bulbs filter out yellow light and are very close to natural sunlight, particularly the glowing pinkness of morning light.

Another good incandescent lamp is halogen (also known as tungsten halogen), which emits a very beautiful bright white light. Caution should be exercised as halogen lamps can get very hot and must be placed far from the art to keep the temperature surrounding the art from fluctuating too much when the light is turned off and on.

Not recommended is the fluorescent bulb, which emits a high amount of ultraviolet light and because of the source of its illumination does not produce accurate color renditions. Also not recommended is direct sunlight.

What else can you do to minimize fading?

Don't leave light constantly on the art.
Have your work framed using glass or acrylic that has ultraviolet filtering properties.
If you will be away from the art for long periods of time, cover the framed piece with a cloth before you go. This has the added bonus of keeping dust off and discouraging flying insects that may find the sizing on and in your frame delicious.
Rotate your collection. Wrap stored pieces in archival paper with labels for easy access.

Louis XIV

2011-07-18T23:08:00.000-07:00

Here we have an 18th century world map. On it we used an architectural and elegant Louis XIV 22k gold leaf frame, hand wrapped smooth silk mats, and ultra clear museum glass. The Louis XIV frame is exactly in step with the time this gorgeous, delicate map was printed and hand colored.

Antique family heirloom

2011-07-07T23:10:00.000-07:00

These are the most beautiful antique hand painted silk and kid leather braces (or suspenders). Delicate, spidery writing on the back of the silk necessitated the use of a mirror to reflect the script.

I sewed the braces onto a support of fine, buttery Irish linen and fashioned a simple frame, custom painted to match the rich whites of the silk then waxed and polished to a rich sheen.

Catherine DeWitt Framing

How Light Affects Art

Louis XIV

Antique family heirloom