Moving Your Art Collection: How to Plan for, Insure, and Package Your Artwork

Marisabel Gonzalez in her studio with several works in progress. See more of her work here.

How can you best plan for, insure, and package your artwork during a move?

Moving is usually included in the most stressful events of adult life alongside planning a wedding, getting a divorce, having a baby, and caring for an ill relative.

This big life event is also an opportunity to take stock of how much stuff you’ve accumulated over time, and for most people, this includes conversations on whether to divest or reimagine your relationship with those objects.

However, when it comes to your art collection, whether you are an artist maintaining your own archive or an art collector moving an extensive collection, there typically isn’t much you can let go of the same way you can kick IKEA furniture to the curb—and it can be overwhelming.

Here are some tips for how to best plan for, insure and package your artwork during a move.

Take stock of your artwork by keeping an inventory of your works.

Ideally, you have some time before you need to move to do a full inventory of the pieces in your collection. This is especially important if you are moving a long distance and will be separated from your possessions for a length of time. Update your Artwork Archive account with current images of the work, notes about provenance, and framing or crating.

Additionally, make note of which pieces are packaged together and their current location. We recommend creating a special collection or Private Room of the pieces you are moving so you can generate an inventory list to have on hand during the process.

It’s important for insurance purposes to note the known value of pieces and their current condition. For museum-quality pieces, it is always recommended to get them appraised before moving them.

Remember, moving is not covered by insurance policies—but there are ways to protect yourself.

If you are packing and moving on your own, you can purchase moving insurance to cover your art collection as part of your moving insurance package. Typically these types of policies can be purchased through your auto or home insurance provider. If you’re hiring movers, some moving companies offer a partnership with a third-party insurer. If you want to be fully covered, expect to pay between 1-5% of the total value of your possessions for moving insurance.

Understand your coverage while moving.

Moving companies have different policies regarding the insurance they offer themselves a la carte, but most will not cover art outright. Works valued at, or over the luxury provision the moving company sets (typically around $1,500 but it varies based on the company), have to be listed as line items. This means that you will pay more to insure them as unique items.

According to Forbes, in the United States, moving companies are required by federal law to offer their customers two types of insurance if they are moving between states. The first is considered full-value protection. Full-value protection requires the third-party mover to replace, repair, or offer the full monetary value of lost or broken goods. The other is released-value protection which gives you .60 cents per pound on lost or broken items.

In the case of released-value protection, an 18-pound KitchenAid mixer would be valued at $10.80 instead of the $450+ it will cost you to replace it. Full-value protection is considerably more expensive, but it s the only way to have your items replaced if the worst-case scenario occurs.

What should you keep in mind when insuring your work during a move?

If you have full-value protection and an artwork from your collection is damaged by movers, you will need to produce proof of value. This could be receipts from sales of other pieces from the same series or works of the same size or auction records if it’s a piece by an artist with public sales records. Make your life easier by storing these documents in your Additional Files records on your Artwork Archive account. This way, you can quickly find all your needed paperwork if anything goes wrong.

If you are truly anxious about having your fine art transported, you can contract out a specialty art handling service at considerably more cost. These types of movers are often artists themselves and have experience with the particular concerns of moving and installing art.

There are some physical precautions you should take into consideration when packing your artwork.

When packing work for a move, you have several options.

If you are packing artwork yourself, it will be easiest and cheapest to transport works on paper unframed. These pieces can be wrapped in mylar or another protective paper, stacked with like-sized work, and inserted into cardboard envelopes or into archival boxes for a tight fit.

The frames themselves should be bubble wrapped and packaged into boxes together to protect their structure.

For very large works on canvas or paper, another space-saving option is rolling the works into tubes. However, it can be difficult to flat works back out after the move. Allow yourself a couple of weeks to package your art so you can pick up more supplies if needed once you get started.

What else should you consider when moving your art collection?

If you have framed works you don’t want to unframe, or stretched canvases to transport, packing them will be more involved and may require crating if the frames contain glass.

Depending on how fragile the three-dimensional works in your collection are, it might be best to work with a professional art handler who can make custom crates that include foam to hold your pieces in place for transfer. If you’ve hired a moving company, in order for your full value protection to be honored, you will need to allow packers to pack your art—insurance will not cover damage if you package your art yourself.

When moving your art collection you have a lot of options, so it’s a good idea to give yourself time and take a couple weeks to research the companies that serve your area. With a little preparation, you can ensure the best possible outcome for your collection.

A few steps you can take to get some peace of mind while moving your artwork

Keep track of your insurance documentation: When moving valuable art, it's crucial to have proper insurance coverage. Artwork Archive helps by providing organized and easily accessible documentation of your collection, which can be shared with insurance companies. This documentation ensures that your collection is adequately insured against potential damages or loss during the move.
Create condition reports using Artwork Archive's reporting options: Before and after the move, you can use Artwork Archive to create and store condition reports for each artwork. These reports detail the artwork's condition, including any existing flaws or damage. By having these reports readily available, you can easily compare the condition before and after the move, ensuring any damage is properly addressed and accounted for.
Have access to digital documents: Artwork Archive serves as a secure cloud-based platform, providing a digital backup of your collection information. If any physical documentation is lost or damaged during the move, you can rest assured knowing that your collection records are safely stored online.