Chapter 4

Installation and Preparation

• Picture Hanging Systems and Developments: Summary

• Standard Hang on Chains

• Standard Hang on Brackets

• National Gallery “Gadget Hang”

• Procedure for the Use of Power Tools at the National Gallery

• Transportation Throughout the Gallery

• Wrapping and Preparation for Travel

Collection Care and Protection

Security:

The National Gallery utilises a number of security measures to protect the Collection from damage and theft during public hours. These include human patrols, CCTV and various alarm systems. In order to compliment these systems and to allow time for a response to an alarm, all works below a pre-determined size are fixed to the walls by screws in at least one point (four points when the work is particularly small). Large works screwed to the wall are usually done so due to the hanging method chosen. Works hanging on chains are also secured to the wall if they fall below a certain size, otherwise most chained works hang freely, it being considered impractical to remove them without authorisation.

Some of the hanging systems used by the Gallery also contain simple security measures, although these are not relied upon as the only or even the main security system.

Dusting and Cleaning:

The dusting and cleaning of the Collection (and any items loaned to the Collection) whilst on display is not the responsibility of the Art Handling Department but falls within the remit of the Conservation and Framing Departments.

The surface of paintings and sculptures are dusted on a regular basis (everyday) by the Conservation technicians working to a rota of rooms to visit. The dusting of frames usually takes place when there is a noticeable build-up of dust or when Art Handling request it knowing that we will be moving those objects soon.

Other items, such as label holders, also require dusting and this responsibility has been harder to define. If a re-hang takes place, the Art Handling Department takes responsibility for this at that point, otherwise not set routine has yet been agreed.

Display cases:

The preparation and cleaning of display case, at the time of installation, falls to Art Handling, as does any cleaning inside the case whilst on general display. However, the Gallery cleaning contractors are permitted to lightly dust the exterior of the cases each day. No cleaning solvents are permitted.

The National Gallery Picture Hanging Systems and New Developments

The National Gallery has, like a number of museums, adopted various methods of hanging the Collections’ paintings. These vary from wall-mounted adjustable systems, commonly known as “gadgets”, to chains or steel load bearing brackets (all described elsewhere in this chapter). Most of the systems involved can also be found in common use with other museums or professional installation companies. The choice of which system to use, is dependent on the needs of the picture involved and the “look” of the display requirements.

Once the method of hanging has been determined, the paintings are fitted out with relatively basic systems. These include mirror plates, purpose-made hooks and protruding screws to marry with the “gadget” system.

In order to improve our approach, the Art Handling Department has embarked upon the re-design of our hanging systems based around a new concept of installation we have called the “integrated hanging system”. The system has been proposed and developed by our Art Handling Senior Collections Technician, Dan Metcalf, and then further developed by the Senior Exhibition Technician and members of the Art Handling team.

The National Gallery Integrated Hanging System:

The purpose of the new system is to reduce intervention on the paintings themselves, the principals to be adopted can be summarised as follows:

• The system attached to the paintings should be permanent, that is to say it is not necessary to continually remove or reposition the inserts.

• The system should be able to cope with any existing National Gallery hanging system or those recently proposed.

• It should be possible to match the system to the requirements of our partner institutions when the paintings are loaned.

The design agreed, involved the production of specially manufactured steel inserts that included an M5 thread to which a variety of fixings could fit or could be adapted to fit. The inserts were relatively small, at only 16mm in diameter and 18mm in length. A special, small tool set was also conceived that could be carried by the Art Handling technicians (held in a pouch similar to a mobile phone case). This allowed re-fitting of pictures to occur on an ad-hoc basis (during planned re-hangs etc) as well as during planned phases.

Result:

The new inserts have proved to be a significant improvement on our current systems. It is the intention to fit as many works as appropriate with the new permanent system. It should be noted that the system does require the picture frames to be reasonably robust and it is not appropriate (with the current insert design) for use on the smallest works in the Collection. The inserts themselves have been given the name “widgets” and can be easily mass produced at a small unit cost price.

Benefits:

The new system has a number of benefits over our previous system of selecting different ways to fit out a painting. These can be summarised as follows:

• They are permanent; the action of fitting out the frames for hanging only needs to be done once. Further intervention into the back of the frame is not necessary despite it being possible to use any hanging system of choice on a picture fitted with widgets.

• New hanging systems can be designed without concern to the back of the painting. As long as the new system has a place for an M5 bolt to attach it to the work that is all that is required.

• Other institutions can receive National Gallery paintings on loan already prepared to be installed on their systems.

• The system can be used to attach the paintings to the new reusable T-Frames (where required).

Reusable Travel Frames (or T-frames):

The original proposal for the Integrated Hanging System also included plans to develop reusable travel frames (please refer to the “casing” chapter for a definition of a T-frame). The proposal involved creating a small number of aluminium travel frames that could be used for a number of different paintings. The travel frames would have an adjustable attachment system that could match the position of the widgets in the frame of the picture and secure the painting.

The first design of the new travel frames involved the use of perforated aluminium plate which could be used to match to the back of the picture frame to find the position of the widgets. This has been acceptable for the smaller travel frame design but has proved too heavy for the larger versions, therefore another design, involving adjustable positions on the travel frame itself has been proposed.

Benefits:

The purpose of the new travel frames is to reduce the costs of our casing requirements and to improve the environmental impact of our activity. This is done by designating a variety of pictures to one T-frame, and therefore saving on the cost and impact of producing one-off travel frames that are specific to one painting. One-use T-frames are normally disposed of once the picture returns from loan as it is not possible to store them at the Gallery’s’ limited facilities.

In addition to the widgets and reusable T-frames, further hanging systems have also been designed or re-designed. These are as follows:

• The M-gadget: this is a redesigned version of our most common hanging system, the D-gadget. The M-gadget uses the same principal of two-directional adjustment but is milled out of a single block of stainless steel. This has allowed the profile of the gadget on the wall to be thinner than the D-gadget so improving appearance. It was also believed that the use of a single block of material would mean that heavier works could be hung on this gadget than the limit we currently set, especially if the painting has widgets inserted in the frame. Load testing though, has shown that both gadgets distort only on loadings far beyond those they experience at the National Gallery.

• Adjustable strap hangers: these are hooks shaped to drop into a gadget, which then allows small works fitted with hanging straps to be installed on an adjustable system instead of a fixed one, ideal for loaned works to exhibitions.

• Heavy duty adjustable hooks: these are constructed from a milled block of metal that contain a threaded hook system and are used on large works hung on chains. This improves the adjustment available by converting the adjustment method to something similar to gadgets, so eliminating the “twisting” method used to correct chained works.

Standard Chain Hang

Paintings are hung on chains in sixteen of the Gallery’s sixty six main rooms. These are among the largest galleries containing some of the biggest paintings. The grandest of which is gallery 32, which houses late Italian paintings and is also home to the largest painting in the Collection; Guido Reni’s, The Nativity.

Paintings hanging on chains are in three categories; small pictures which are top hooked and pinned back to the wall at the bottom of the frame, larger pictures which are mainly bottom hooked and not pinned back at the bottom and finally huge pictures that are actually supported at their base by ‘L’ Brackets with the chains acting as a top support or just for decorative purposes and not actually attached to the frame at all.

The principle of hanging National Gallery pictures on chains dates back to the opening of the Wilkins Building at the latter part of the nineteenth century. The principle galleries of the Wilkins Building have historically been chain hung. This tradition is still practiced and runs alongside the aim of the institution to return the Gallery as a whole to as close to its original appearance in key areas as possible.

The interface between the painting and the chain is dealt with very simply. A variety of plate hooks are used which are simply hooked through the links of the chain at the appropriate height. Depending on the paintings size, these hooks are placed either at the top or the bottom of the frame. In the case of bottom hooked pictures, a further fixing is required at the top of the frame to retain the chain behind the frame to prevent it falling forward (a Mast Plate). In order to level the work the chain is unlatched on one side and twisted in order to shorten it slightly, this then raises one side. This practise will eventually be redundant when a new fully adjustable plate hook is devised.

The placing of the hooks at the bottom of the frame is a response to best practise in other British historic collections. The National Trust instituted this practise as a result of a serious fire in one of their properties, where several important paintings were lost because of the scarcity of staff to remove the pictures from their chains. With a picture attached to hooks at the top of the frame the handlers need to climb a ladder to reach the hook and unlatch the chain, while others hold the weight of the painting. With bottom placed hooks, two handlers can lift and unlatch the chains and lower the painting to the floor.

The Stacker Trolley is the primary tool we use in conjunction with a chain hang, as it offers the best flexibility in terms of access to the wall and finesse of handling when the hang height is to be determined. The Stacker Trolley is often used to view a painting at different heights prior to attaching it to its chains. Genie platforms are also needed to adjust or remove chains at the picture rail end.

The chain itself is of a welded design which has a bronze powder coated finish which is highly sympathetic to the décor of the rooms and is extremely hard wearing.

The chains are simply hung over a load bearing rail attached to the wall at high level, this is via a rail hook. The chain itself is attached to this rail hook via a shackle, both items of hardware have been in use in the Gallery for a great many years and have proved very easy to work with and are highly durable.

Standard Hanging Procedure for Brackets

The National Gallery uses L shaped brackets for the display of larger heavy pictures in areas of the Collection where chains are not in use, and occasionally in addition to chains when a painting is particularly heavy. They range in size from 2cm – 18cm (3/4” – 7”) and are made of steel with a bronzed finish. They successfully support pictures with weights of up to 350 kilograms. Normally two brackets are enough to support a picture although on occasions more are required.

In order to keep the picture secured on the brackets, mending plates or mirror plates are used. Typically two on the top frame member and one in the centre of the bottom frame member (although on larger works quite often two are used on the bottom of the frame as well.) The base of the bracket which comes into contact with the frame should be covered in a layer of 3-6mm plastazote which should be attached to the bracket with double sided tape to ensure it will not slip.

Once the height of the picture from the floor is established with the Curator by raising the picture on a Stacker Trolley, the job of positioning and attaching the brackets to the wall takes place.

The brackets need to be placed far enough apart to spread the weight of the painting evenly across the bottom frame member. However, the position of the mirror or mending plates must be taken into account when positioning the brackets, so they cannot obstruct each other. A nail is driven into the wall at the point where the bracket is to be situated and then the bracket is sat on top of the nail in preparation for screwing it to the wall. The bracket would typically take between 3 and 6 size 10 or 12 screws and pilot holes would be drilled to assist in screwing them in.

When the first screw has been driven in, the bracket is levelled using a spirit level before the rest of the screws are employed. If the distance between brackets is short enough, one of the Departments’ long spirit levels can be used to bridge the distance between brackets and assist in finding the right position for the second bracket. Where this distance is too long one must rely on accurate measuring and a small spirit level to work out the position of the second bracket.

Once both brackets are up, the picture is normally installed using either a Stacker Trolley or the Blue Hoist. It is always advisable to make sure the picture is straight before screwing it to the wall. Normally two technicians would hold the picture back to the wall while the Curator and any free team members decide whether or not it needs adjusting. It is important at this point to get all the lifting equipment out of the way to make viewing the painting as straightforward as possible. Where adjustments are necessary these are normally carried out by slipping an appropriately sized strip of hard rubber or plastazote onto the bracket to raise the picture by the correct amount.

When the position of the picture has been approved then it can be screwed to the wall and the mirror or mending plates painted out by one of the technicians using a genie to reach the top brackets.

New Brackets

We now also have new stainless steel L brackets which have a small lip along the front edge which ensures the picture cannot slide off the brackets. When using these brackets it no longer is necessary to a use mirror or mending plates on the bottom member of the frame to hold it back to the wall. The brackets should be covered with plastazote in the same way as the older style brackets, making sure there is foam running up the inside edge of the lip. With the new brackets, because of the lip, it is important to try the bracket against the frame to ensure you have the correct size for the frame in question. Otherwise the procedure is the same as for the older style brackets.

Standard National Gallery Hang Using Gadgets

The picture hanging Gadget is used extensively throughout the National Gallery for the hanging of small to medium size works.

• It requires the picture frame to be fitted with two screws with domed heads (or any large headed screw) somewhere in the top half of the side members on the frames’ reverse side.

• They should protrude by approximately 5mm from the back of the frame, although depending on build ups, this could be considerably more or could be as little as 2mm.

• These then slot into the openings on the two Gadgets which are fitted to the wall. Each Gadget is adjustable horizontally by 5mm giving you 10mm adjustment between the two and also vertically by 15mm. (In practise you would only have to take up one side of a frame to straighten up a hang.)

• Additionally, there should be a mirror or mending plate fitted to the centre bottom of the frame which allows for a security screw to hold the bottom of the frame flush to the wall and stops any unauthorized removal of the picture once it has been secured.

Although there are many ways of measuring up to hang a painting on Gadgets, the following is the standard to which we work from, we will be working from left to right in this instance

1) Establish the centre height for hanging the picture and mark the wall where the centre of the left hand edge of the frame is to be situated.

2) Measure the reverse of the left hand side of the frame to find a) The centre point b) The measurement from the centre point up to the Gadget screw c) The distance from the edge of the frame in to the Gadget screw d) The measurement between the two Gadget screws

3) Measure up from the mark on the wall distance b) followed by distance c).

4) Nail a thin pin into the wall at this point ensuring the head of the pin will pass through the hole situated in the base plate of the Gadget (at the bottom of the U shaped slot for locating the picture screw).

5) Measure distance d) hooking the end of your tape measure over the pin in the wall and marking the wall at the correct corresponding point.

6) Check your corresponding heights are correct before nailing in your second pin.

7) Place your 2 Gadgets over the pins in the wall; these will hold them in position while you get set up to screw the Gadgets to the wall.

8) Screw your Gadgets to the wall using size 6-8 screws (it is advisable to drill pilot holes for your screws first). Make sure you centre your screws on the slotted screw holes to give yourself the full adjustment available.

9) Double check distance d) against the two Gadgets. Then adjust if necessary by loosening off the two screws and sliding the Gadget the distance necessary to give you the correct measurement. Remember to re-tighten your screws afterwards!

10) Hang the picture, locating the picture screws in the U shaped Gadget slots.

11) Check to see that the picture is straight. If not – work out which side of the frame needs to go up and by how much. Take the picture off (in some cases you will only need to lift it off on the side that needs adjusting) then fit an adjustment screw into the base of the Gadget, screw it in as far as is needed to correct the angle of the frame.

12) When satisfied that the picture is straight and correctly positioned, drill a pilot hole for the security screw and secure it with the appropriate screw.

The National Gallery Use of Power Tools

Central to our ability to deliver high quality services to the Gallery is the use of power assisted tools. The Art Handler will be expected to have had experience in the use of common hand tools and simple power tools. The question of when power tools are used is largely at the discretion of the individual Technician, or exceptionally under the guidance of the Senior Technician.

We use power tools to speed up certain operations; for example the removal of captive screws or bolts from packing case lids, the attachment of wall fixings, the fitting of hardware to the reverse of National Gallery frames, and the modification of display related material.

Under the terms of the National Gallery Loan Agreement, we do not allow the use of power tools on Gallery pictures when they are on loan elsewhere, or on pictures loaned to the Gallery. In practise, we DO use power tools when we feel it is appropriate to do so, on our own pictures. This is predicated on our knowledge of the fragility of particular works. Our Loan Agreement ensures that no poorly judged intervention is made by a lender on one of our paintings whilst it is on loan, which may cause long term damage to that work. The wishes of lenders to the National Gallery Collection and Exhibitions must similarly be respected.

The power tool most frequently used by the technicians is the cordless drill/screwdriver. These are provided for everyday use and probably account for most of the use of power tools in the Gallery. In the exhibition environment these tools will be used frequently for the securing of wall fixings and the servicing of packing cases. It is important that they are readily available for these purposes, to that end the spare batteries must be on hand, as must the battery chargers.

Permission must always be sought from the lender prior to any intervention using power tools, whether on the picture container and most especially on the work itself.

Proper consideration must also be given to the appropriate Health and Safety aspects of working with power tools. In the workshop, items to be drilled must be securely clamped using a vice or similar, and when metal is being drilled, eye protection must be worn.

The Transportation of Art works throughout the National Gallery (please refer to the Standard Picture Trolley and the Movement of Small Pictures Risk Assessments)

The National Gallery site is divided between two buildings (the Wilkins Building and the Sainsbury Wing) that are linked continuously on the main display floor and by a “link” corridor between the non-public areas. In the daily function of the Gallery and the installation of exhibitions in both buildings, it is necessary to move art works throughout the building and onto several different floors. The Art Handling Department is responsible for the movement of all art works and the following criteria must apply when doing so:

1) All necessary conservation measures must be observed when transporting art work. 2) Where possible, art work should only be moved through the Gallery during non-public times. 3) The route through the building should be safe and known in advance with allowance made for risks such as building work etc. 4) Art work must only be transported on a recognised and sound Trolley system with the art work securely tied to the body of the Trolley. It is though, permissible to manually transport work within individual galleries (though not between them) if the work is of a manageable size and weight (to be assessed by the technicians involved). 5) A minimum of two technicians must be present for every move; this is increased accordingly and as required dependent on the needs of the work involved. 6) Art work must not be carried up or down stairs. If it is necessary to transverse floors then the appropriate lift should be used.

The Trolley system the Art Handling Department adopts consists of three different Trolley types (all designed by the Department). These are arranged according to the weight/installation categorisation system we have created and are as follows:

1) The standard National Gallery Trolley (yellow move) is the most commonly used and is an upright carrying Trolley intended for use with low to mid-weight/size works. 2) The Stacker Trolley (aluminium move) is used for mid-weight works that can be large in area. 3) The Blue Hoist (blue move) is a large lifter and transporter primarily used for very large and heavy works and altarpieces.

The actual design limitations of each Trolley can be found in the relevant operating instructions. In addition to these pieces of equipment, we also use two picture “bins” (four-sided carrying Trolleys) for very small or vulnerable works.

If the art work is cased then we will use skates (small wooden four-wheeled Trolleys) or Skoots for large cases. In the past it has been practice to use piano wheels or their equivalent to move large paintings short distances within the Gallery. This practice is no longer permitted and technicians must always select one of the described methods when moving paintings.

Standard National Gallery Wrapping and Packing Methods

Although different paintings may require specialised approaches when being wrapped for transportation outside of the Gallery, the following guidelines can be used to assist in deciding what needs to be done in most situations.

The first section deals with works which are being wrapped to travel inside a packing case. The second section deals with soft wrapping which only differs slightly from a standard packing method for casing.

1) Works which have been Glazed – These should be wrapped in polythene sealing all the folds and joints with P.V.C. tape to effectively create an airtight package. As long as the frame of the work for packing is robust enough to be placed face down. It can be placed in this orientation on a sheet of polythene which has been cut to the correct size for the work. The polythene should be stretched tight without placing undue stress on the picture and its frame.

2) Unglazed Works – These should be wrapped in polythene and sealed in the same manner as glazed works – the only difference being that – before wrapping, cotton should be secured around the frame to ensure the polythene does not come into contact with the paint surface. These ties should have acid free tissue pads (preferably with a padded insert of something like cell air/jiffy foam wrap)introduced between the tie and the frame surface to ensure no chafing or abrasion occurs to the frame surface during packing and transit.

Cotton Ties – The number of cotton ties and tissue pads will be dependant on the size and depth of the frame. As a rough guide, if a tie is used for up to every metre of height or width, this should in most cases adequately protect the surface of the work from coming into contact with the surface of the polythene. For example - if the painting is H. 50cm x W. 45cm, then one vertical and one horizontal tie should be sufficient. If on the other hand the painting was H. 250cm x W. 100cm, you would use one vertical and three horizontal ties. The number of ties and their configuration should be included on the packing notes which are written up by the courier when the work is packed for transit. The ties should be evenly spaced but must avoid being stretched over delicate or fragile mouldings or decoration and should be tied securely with a knot which preferably is easily undone. The tension on the ties should be high enough to support the polythene but shouldn’t put undue stress on the frame members.

3) Highly Decorative and Fragile Frames – In most cases we would use a travel frame, which itself would be wrapped in the manner described above taking into account firstly whether or not the picture had been glazed. Where it had been deemed safe for the work to travel in a normal case, it may be advisable to pack the work face up, to ensure undue pressure is not exerted on delicate or fragile mouldings or carving. In such cases all ties and tape will need to be fixed along the edge of the frame.

4) Fitting Works into Cases – We would normally place works face down inside the packing case. The only time this does not apply is when - a) The work is in a travel frame which would always be packed face up b) The work has a very delicate frame and would also travel face up

5) Panel Paintings – All of the above apply, but in addition, panels should always travel with the wood grain in the vertical orientation.

6) When fitting a picture out for loan to another institution – A number of factors have to be taken into consideration. Firstly the backboard should be sealed with two wax seals. If the backboard is made up of more than one unit, each unit needs two seals to discourage removal whilst on loan. Secondly, the method of hanging should be agreed in advance with the borrowing institution and the appropriate fittings supplied with the picture.

For smaller works this would normally consist of four mirror or mending plates fitted, two on the top member and two on the bottom member of the frame. With larger heavier works two brackets would also be supplied for resting the picture on. These would normally be screwed to the outside of the case which the picture travelled in and would be removed for use when the picture reached its destination.

Where the borrowing institution hangs on hooks, wires or chains we would normally fit strap hangers or hooks, although on occasions the frame will be left clear for the borrower’s fixings, if this has been agreed in advance and we have no suitable hardware to marry up with their system.

When our new hanging system (which is described elsewhere in this manual) is fully developed, it will be possible to adapt the Gallery’s paintings to hang on any system that is required without making new holes in the frame.