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

[steamedxmaspudding]

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!

by the way what kind of paint is it? oil? acrylic? something else? that should give you an idea of if it will crack or not. perhaps you could roll a tiny corner and see.

if it is a 200 year old painting, is it valuable? I'd take down the banister rather than bend the painting. the banister is easy to repair but the painting will crack and will not be easy to repair.

No advice but I'd love to see it. Can we have a picture?

I would also love to see a picture.

I honestly think removing the banister is going to be the only solution that doesn't damage it.

Why not remove YOUR bannister? I'm not sure why DH has final say on that. Presumably if they can knock down a wall the builders can remove and replace a bannister. It will cost but so will restretching it.

I have some experience of this and your 2
options are wrapping it or unstretchering it and then having it re-stretched after. But you know the dangers of that and the possible costs.
I worked in a museum being redeveloped where we had a very large painting that was far too big for the doors. In the end it was wrapped (as described above) we also used to have massive sheets of thick plastic and would then double wrap in different directions and double taped over the joints. It was then covered in blankets (picks up the muck and in case anything hits it) and moved constantly around the building works. It’s not ideal but it’s probably your best option.

You know, this might be the best solution... 😬

Remove the bannister, move the painting, replace the bannister.

I don't have an answer but would love to see the painting:)

How many panes of glass do you know that are 2x2 metres??

Take a photo then repaint it later at your leisure.

This, I saw this happen when somebody ordered a sofa that was too big.

Half an hour later the sofa is in the living room and the window fitters are long gone.

Double glazing is essentially attached to the house by a few screws.

😀

Artist posting. IF you need to remove it from its stretchers do NOT bend it. The paint will crack and it will be either impossible to get out or a very very costly repair.

Your best bet is to purchase a very wide cardboard tube or blag one from carpet shop. Cover with breathable cotton calico and lay a layer of calico over the paint before gently rolling the canvas around the tube. It needs to be as wide as you can get it. A postal tube is not wide enough. Do not wind it tight. I only ever use acid free tissue paper on soft pastel works as it can stick to anything with oil in it.

You could also try taking good gaulity photos and measuring it and taking the details to a local art museum. They may have a conservator available who may be able to advise you further.

cover with calico to protect from dut nd tore upright in. Dry, clean, airy and lightproof area NOT next to a radiator, kitchen or bathroom. keep as much of the original frame support as you can. Arrange to have it professionally reframed onto its stretchers ASAP when work has been done.

It doesn't need to be 2x2 metres paintings are flattish. So just one dimension bigger than 2m

OK, this is really going to out me 😂

Hard to take a good pic of the painting but this is it and the space it's hanging in!

I know it looks like it should be able to go into that room at the end but I promise you it won't, we have tried. It's too tall to go through the doorway except at an angle and the banister post gets in the way.

I should add -

• DH hates the painting and would gladly see it chopped up and put in the bin so is not really on board with me demolishing parts of the house to get it out
• Even if we managed to get the builders to work around it somehow, we're hoping to move house next year so I will have to get it downstairs at some point!
• Taking down the banisters would basically mean dismantling the staircase so I'm not really sure that's an option at all, though I might ask the builders about it

I agree with @parietal . Remove the banister temporarily.

Good luck!

I'm so sorry, I understand your frustration but the first thing that came to mind was this...

Hmmmm. If you've already been in touch with experts, it's not likely that anyone here will be able to suggest anything they haven't done.
Has your list of experts included removal companies? (you only mention art-related people in the OP). They would have a POV, as one day it will have to come out of the house!

By far the most sensible suggestion is one lots of people have made - to wrap it well and lean it against one of the remaining walls. You can't be removing all 4 walls in the room it's in?!

Your builders will be able to remove the bannister and make good. It will be an extra cost but I think in a marriage you sometimes have to accept that something very important to your spouse should be taken seriously even if you hate it

How about a ceiling - screw in some hooks and hang it from the ceiling (staircase landing maybe?)

I'm only here because when I started to read the thread title I thought it said 'help I have a giant panda trapped in my house'.

But now I've read the thread, that might be easier to deal with.

I also agree with asking a removal company. Go for someone like pickfords who will have experience of moving artworks rather than local man and van.

This really. Bannisters and DHs are very easily replaced but a 200 year old painting is not!

Will it not go into that room at the end of the corridor if you take the door off and move the wardrobe?