Painting on warped wood

Susan May

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Help! I have a painting on wood that is 60" X 14" (aprox.) and it is warped. The top and bottome edges seem flat, but the sides both are warped forward, about 3/4". The top edge is not level. The wood is about 3/8" thick.

The artist is no longer living, (this is an Antique) and it is worth quite a bit to my customer.

How would you frame this?
shrug.gif


My customer is concerned about putting any holes in it, as it just came back from a conservator. She doesn't want to have them fix any more holes. :D

Thanks.
 
Sue,
I have framed warped paintings on wood in a shadow box frame. Find a suitable deep moulding and then cut a black core backing and carefully nail it in place.You may have to paint the inside of the moulding. Bill
 
If the painting is stable in a warped condition the usual practice would be to leave it warped.

Early panel paintings for example have, in the past, been subjected to some pretty extreme treatments in order to flatten them - thinning the wooden support, and the construction of wooden "cradles" to restrain them, but nowadays less is considered better:

"Panel paintings pose other problems. Where members of the panel have split the panel should be glued together and this join may be supported in some way. Unstable panels are often treated by placing them in a micro-climate chamber. This will allow the painting to be kept in a particularly stable climate by building up the frame to incorporate sealed glazing, sealed backboard and possibly also conditioned silica gel. Conservators generally consider that warped panels should not be forced flat and that the frame should be built to accommodate the warp. Where a planed down, thin panel has had to have cradling removed conservators will devise a method for supporting the whole panel. Such supports are tailored to the specific problems of the individual panel and are often unique."

For the full article: http://www.wengraf.com/tina3.htm

Rebecca
 
Thanks Rebecca. You gave me the information I need. It is indeed painted on a wood panel. Looks like it used to be a door, or wall decor. It has markings on the back that show where a decorative moulding used to be.

The Conservator filled in the crack where someone tried to flatten the painting... So I don't think we will be flattening it. (Read that to be, it will stay warped.)
 
Given the fact that it is a board, it should be
secured only at the central portions of its end
grain edges. It will be moving across its grain
and the side grain edges should left free to move.
This is standard practice for panel paintings.

Hugh
 
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