Most damage to artwork in transit happens at the corners and at the glass, and both are avoidable decisions rather than accidents.
Decide about the frame first
Glass in a parcel is a risk to the thing it is protecting. Where you can, take the work out and post it flat, with the frame separately or not at all. Where you cannot, tape the glass face in a grid so that if it breaks it holds together — and say in the listing that it is going framed, so the buyer can choose collection instead.
Works on paper
Flat, between two rigid boards, in a sleeve, in a rigid flat box. Never fold a work that is not already folded.
If a piece is already rolled, keep it rolled: loosely around a wide core, interleaved with acid-free tissue, in a rigid tube with taped caps. Packing posters covers tubes in more detail.
Stretched canvases
- Glassine or acid-free tissue against the painted surface — never plastic directly on paint
- Card over the face, cut to size
- Corner protectors, because corners take every impact
- Bubble around the whole thing
- A box close to the size, voids filled, double-boxed for anything valuable
Never let anything press on the centre of a stretched canvas. Pressure there leaves a mark that does not come out.
Unstretched canvas
Roll it painted side out around a wide core, never folded, and never tightly. A fold in paint is a crack.
Damp and heat
Paper and canvas both take damp from the air. A sealed bag inside the box, every time. Monsoon and your stock.
Questions people ask
Can I use bubble wrap against a painting?
Not directly on the surface. Tissue or glassine first, then bubble.
Should I remove a work from its frame without asking?
Say what you plan to do in the listing. Some buyers want the frame; most prefer the work to arrive intact.
What about very large pieces?
Offer collection and say so before bidding starts.