Safe Luxury

How to preserve a lithograph and hang it on a wall?

I bought a lithograph and I want to make sure I keep it really nice and safe. I just put in a regular picture frame from Michaels and hung it on my wall. Is this safe enough, or do I need to do anything else to make sure it stays preserved and nice? Will the artwork possible rub off onto the picture frame?

Public Comments

1. Any work on paper should be archival mounted. This means that all the other paper products used mounting board,matte board,tape anything coming in contact with the work on paper,should be acid free. The work should not be displayed in direct sunlight and in a dry location. Dampness is another thing to avoid. If possible glass that protects against ultraviolet light should be used. All of this can become expensive.. If you are not concerned with displaying the work there are acid free boxes used to store papers. A high acid pH in paper is what causes yellowing. As an example,newsprint paper used for newspapers is one of the lowest qualities of paper there is, with a high acid pH, when let in the sun for just a couple of days will begin the oxidation process . Old yellow./brown newspaper is a very common sight. Most papers made today,because of the manufacturing process and use of certain chemicals makes for most papers today to have a high acid pH and these papers will not last very long. There are acid free or low acid pH papers made centuries ago that will outlast most modern papers