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Original poster

Help! I have a giant painting trapped in my house!

199 replies

steamedxmaspudding · 27/09/2024 09:38

This will out me to anyone who knows me but...

I have a giant oil painting upstairs in my house (about 2m square) which I have to move as we're having some building work done in a couple of weeks. Only problem is, it won't fit down the stairs! Or into any of the other rooms on that floor. What the hell do I do? I love it and really don't want to damage it. I have been in touch with various art conservators/reframers etc but none of them have been able to help or even offer any advice.

Current plan is to take it off the frame (it's not framed under glass, just canvas stretched over wood) and then just bend it a little bit to get it downstairs but I'm really worried about the paint cracking 😫

Any ideas gratefully received!

OP posts:
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6
commonground · 27/09/2024 09:40

I mean, the obvious question is... how did it get up there in the first place?!

TickingAlongNicely · 27/09/2024 09:41

How did it get there originally (or was it painted in there?

Cheeesus · 27/09/2024 09:41

Does it fit out of a window?
How close is it to fitting in another room? Would taking doors off hinges help?

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Art & design
MeanMrMustardSeed · 27/09/2024 09:41

Take out a window?

Ineffable23 · 27/09/2024 09:41

How did it get in?

Does it absolutely have to go down the stairs? Could you take it off the wall, wrap it in bleach free conservation paper (obviously checking that this won't stick to oil paint) and then in bubble wrap and then in plastic so it's completely sealed, and then leave the builders to move it round as required?

Fluoreto · 27/09/2024 09:43

In the bath?

Toiletrollwaspreciousincovidtimes · 27/09/2024 09:43

Ask a local window firm to pop a pane out if double glazed....

Singleandproud · 27/09/2024 09:47

Can you protect it really well and leave it in the room? Bleach free paper on top of the paint, then foam blocks around it then type used for reupholstering a bench, they sell it in dunelm, then wrapped in the industrial cling film type stuff?

Is it an expensive professional piece, take it off it's frame, roll it up with the parchment then restretch / frame it afterwards?

IntheVicinity · 27/09/2024 09:47

Ineffable23 · 27/09/2024 09:41

How did it get in?

Does it absolutely have to go down the stairs? Could you take it off the wall, wrap it in bleach free conservation paper (obviously checking that this won't stick to oil paint) and then in bubble wrap and then in plastic so it's completely sealed, and then leave the builders to move it round as required?

That would be my first idea.

MidnightPatrol · 27/09/2024 09:47

Can you build a cardboard frame around it?

SoupDragon · 27/09/2024 09:49

Pivot!

I agree with taking a window out. That's how they got my grandmother's piano out of the house when she moved to sheltered accommodation.

Original poster
steamedxmaspudding · 27/09/2024 09:59

commonground · 27/09/2024 09:40

I mean, the obvious question is... how did it get up there in the first place?!

We had some other building work done a couple of years ago that involved replacing the staircase and banisters from the ground floor and now it won't fit down the new staircase or around the banisters. DH won't hear of me removing the banisters (probably fair!)

OP posts:
Original poster
steamedxmaspudding · 27/09/2024 10:01

Ineffable23 · 27/09/2024 09:41

How did it get in?

Does it absolutely have to go down the stairs? Could you take it off the wall, wrap it in bleach free conservation paper (obviously checking that this won't stick to oil paint) and then in bubble wrap and then in plastic so it's completely sealed, and then leave the builders to move it round as required?

Unfortunately the wall it's on is being partially demolished and it's in a very narrow corridor so they won't have space to work around it once it's off the wall. We can't move it into any of the other rooms on that floor due to the tight angles. It's really a ridiculously large painting for such a tiny house (little Victorian terrace)

OP posts:
Fraaahnces · 27/09/2024 10:01

Can you cover it in bubble wrap and then extra plastic, then build around it?

Original poster
steamedxmaspudding · 27/09/2024 10:02

Toiletrollwaspreciousincovidtimes · 27/09/2024 09:43

Ask a local window firm to pop a pane out if double glazed....

Unfortunately none of the windows are big enough! The painting goes pretty much from floor to ceiling and we have Victorian sash windows, we'd have to take out half the wall as well

OP posts:
Original poster
steamedxmaspudding · 27/09/2024 10:04

Singleandproud · 27/09/2024 09:47

Can you protect it really well and leave it in the room? Bleach free paper on top of the paint, then foam blocks around it then type used for reupholstering a bench, they sell it in dunelm, then wrapped in the industrial cling film type stuff?

Is it an expensive professional piece, take it off it's frame, roll it up with the parchment then restretch / frame it afterwards?

Edited

It's not some priceless portrait but it is about 200 years old and quite precious to me! I'm worried about cracking the paint if I fully roll it but I think bending it a bit is going to be unavoidable.

OP posts:
anxietyaardvark · 27/09/2024 10:06

Knock a hole in the ceiling and take it up to the attic, do the work, bring it down and then close up and decorate hole when the other decorating is done?

Fraaahnces · 27/09/2024 10:06

Leave it as is and bubble wrap it

Original poster
steamedxmaspudding · 27/09/2024 10:09

anxietyaardvark · 27/09/2024 10:06

Knock a hole in the ceiling and take it up to the attic, do the work, bring it down and then close up and decorate hole when the other decorating is done?

We don't have an attic any more, had it converted into a bedroom! And unfortunately it won't fit back on that wall after our building work is done, anyway - it really does need to be moved downstairs

OP posts:
commonground · 27/09/2024 10:09

It sounds like one of those grain, chicken and fox in a boat conundrums. How to get the painting out in as few moves as possible?

How thick is the paint? On a scale of gentle impressionist waterlilies to Auerbach impasto?

In any case, if you unpick it from the frame yourself, you will likely need a professional to stretch it back again.

It sounds like the most straightforward option is to wrap it and the builders can move it (like carpet fitters do with furniture in situ?)

EauNeu · 27/09/2024 10:11

Why won't dh let you remove the bannister?

Bruisername · 27/09/2024 10:12

Are you sure it won’t fit a bit easier than you think? When we moved into our house our professional movers were moving things through spaces I thought were impossible!!

toomuchcardboard · 27/09/2024 10:13

Nail it to the ceiling temporarily, out of the way.

Scaredymaclaredy · 27/09/2024 10:17

Difficult because it’s hard to know what sort of substrate it’s painted on, and that can crack very easily. Also possible that if certain resins etc are used, they crack far more easily than others . An oil painting of this age will have hardened a lot and be far more fragile, so the likelihood of damage is high.

realalala · 27/09/2024 10:17

all I can think of is removing the canvas from the frame or stretcher, carefully rolling and storing it then restretching it later (probably a job for a professional). if it is in a frame it may require that to be rebuilt later.