Safely Shipping Fine Art: A Complete Guide
As you may have seen, we recently launched a new feature that allows users to make shipping arrangements for artworks directly on Museum Exchange. In recognition of this important milestone, we wanted to dedicate a blog post to what goes into fine art shipping.
Shipping fine art involves much more than just placing an object in a box. If you’ve had any experience with it, you’ll have noticed the meticulous care and specialized packing materials used by art shippers, and a correspondingly steep price tag. Unlike the majority of household items, fine art objects such as paintings, sculptures, and works on paper are highly vulnerable to damage and are often one-of-a-kind, which means that if anything happens, they can’t be replaced. For this reason, careful preparation and selecting the right shipping method are essential to protect both the physical integrity and long-term value of your artworks. Fortunately, an entire industry has emerged over the last few decades to meet this need, ensuring that your priceless objects get safely from A to B, or in our case, from your home or storage facility to the walls of a public institution.
The Importance of Properly Shipping Your Art
Artworks are often fragile, environmentally sensitive, and, in many cases, irreplaceable. Even a minor impact during transit can result in significant damage. The list of potential physical issues from improper packing and handling is extensive, spanning breakage, shattered glazing, scratches, abrasions, adhesions, punctures, dents, tears, flaking, and paint loss. Even just exposing a work to the wrong environmental conditions—such as fluctuations in temperature or humidity—can lead to warping, mold or mildew growth, corrosion, and cracking.
Inadequate or inappropriate packing materials, rough handling, climate extremes, and unsecured loading all increase risk; while careful preparation and appropriate safeguards dramatically reduce the likelihood of damage. The right approach depends on the artwork’s medium, fragility, size, framing, and value.
Packing Your Art for Shipping: Materials and Techniques
The first line of defence against damage is properly packing your art for transit. Proper packing reduces movement, absorbs shock, and protects surfaces from abrasion and environmental fluctuations. Investing in the correct materials at the outset is often the most important step in protecting your artwork during transit.
General best practices include:
Use archival or acid-free materials when in direct contact with artworks
Avoid allowing bubble wrap to touch painted surfaces directly
Add corner protectors to framed artworks
Double box smaller artworks when using parcel carriers
Consider custom crating for high-value or fragile artworks
How to Pack Paintings for Shipping
When determining how to ship a painting—especially paintings on canvas—the primary concerns are puncture, vibration, and surface abrasion.
For stretched canvases with minimal surface texture, place glassine or acid-free tissue over the painted surface, add corner protectors to reduce impact damage, and wrap the painting in cushioning material such as foam or bubble wrap before securing the artwork inside a snug-fitting box.
For large, heavily textured, or high-value painting, a travel crate (also called a slat crate) provides structural bracing and prevents packing materials from touching the surface. Full custom crating offers the highest level of protection and may be appropriate for significant artworks.
How to Pack Framed Works on Paper and Photographs for Shipping
Understanding how to ship framed artworks properly can help prevent cracked glazing and frame damage. Apply painter’s tape in an “X” pattern across the glazing (if present) to reduce shattering risk, add corner protectors, place rigid boards on both sides of the frame, and double-box whenever possible.
Specialized art shipping containers such as MasterPak and StrongBox offer layered shock absorption and reinforced construction, providing additional protection when using common carriers.
How to Pack Unframed Works on Paper and Photographs for Shipping
Works on paper are particularly sensitive to bending and moisture. Use archival sleeves or folders, sandwich the sheet between rigid boards, and seal against humidity exposure. Rolling should only be considered if appropriate for the medium and condition.
Products such as PrintPads offer reinforced sleeves designed to resist bending and puncture during transit.
How to Pack Sculptures for Shipping
Sculptures require careful stabilization and weight distribution. Remove detachable elements and wrap them separately, cushion protruding features thoroughly, and use dense foam supports tailored to the object’s shape. Ensure the base is fully supported and the object cannot shift within the container.
Because sculptures vary widely in material—metal, ceramic, wood, and mixed media—consulting an experienced fine art shipping company is often advisable for valuable or complex artworks.
Choosing the Right Shipping Method for Your Artworks
The appropriate shipping method depends on the artwork’s value, size, fragility, and delivery timeline.
Shipping via parcel carriers such as FedEx, UPS, and DHL can be cost-effective for well-protected artworks valued under $50,000 that can safely undergo multiple handling points. These carriers offer a range of service speeds—from ground to next-day air—which may reduce transit time and environmental exposure.
High-value, fragile, or oversized items often warrant professional fine art handlers. Although more expensive, fine art logistics companies provide white-glove service ensuring the safety of your artworks as well as additional services including condition reporting, custom packing and crating, deinstallation and installation, climate-controlled transport, and secure storage. Transit timelines may range from two to four weeks depending on route and scheduling, but oversight and handling expertise are significantly higher.
International Art Shipping: Customs & Regulations
International shipments require additional coordination. Fine art handlers frequently manage required documentation, but donors should understand the basics.
For shipments into the United States, core documents typically include a commercial invoice, bill of lading or air waybill, and a packing list. While fine art is generally duty-free under U.S. tariff classifications, customs requires a declared value. Merchandise Processing Fees may apply in certain circumstances, and state use tax may apply depending on destination and transaction type. Even when donating to a museum, the work is declared at fair market value for customs purposes.
Shipping into Canada involves similar documentation, though tax collection at import is more directly integrated into the process. In both countries, licensed customs brokers are commonly engaged to facilitate clearance.
For high-value or historically significant works, working with experienced art shippers and customs professionals helps prevent delays and unexpected costs.
Insurance & Tracking for Art Shipments
Transit risk can never be fully eliminated. Insurance provides financial protection in the event of damage or loss. Before shipping, confirm that your coverage reflects the artwork’s fair market value, applies door-to-door, and does not contain exclusions that could affect your shipment. Supplemental carrier coverage may be available when needed.
Parcel carriers typically provide real-time online tracking and automated updates. Fine art shippers may provide less digital tracking visibility but offer direct communication, with confirmation of pickup and delivery windows in advance and day-of-arrival contact from handlers.
Art Shipping with Museum Exchange
When completing a donation, shipping is a crucial step in transferring the work safely into institutional care. Museum Exchange supports donors and institutions in coordinating logistics so that works can be transferred efficiently and responsibly.
Our expanded shipping functionality powered by Arta, allows institutions to instantly source and compare quotes, book shipping, and arrange additional services directly within the platform. Both donors and institutions can track shipments and access dedicated customer support throughout the shipping process. This is just one of the reasons institutions and donors alike choose to use Museum Exchange to process their donations.
Nancy Rubins, Mark Thompson’s Airplane Parts, some from Orlando, Chas’s Stainless Steel and Feldman Home, 2000-2004, airplane parts, stainless steel wire cable, 204 x 222 x 200 inches; Collection of Rollins Museum of Art; Gift of Dr. Robert B. Feldman MD, Loudonville, NY.
