Art Care · Updated June 2026

How to Store Art and Canvases: Temperature, Humidity, and the Right Way to Stack

Store art at a stable 65–70°F and 40–55% relative humidity, and store paintings vertically — never flat-stacked — with a soft barrier between each piece. Almost everything that ruins stored art comes down to those two rules being broken.

By the Austin Gallery editors · June 13, 2026

The single most important thing to know about storing art is that temperature and humidity swings are what destroy it, not age. A painting kept in stable, moderate conditions can last centuries; the same painting in an attic that bakes in summer and chills in winter can craze, lift, and mold within a few seasons. Below are the conservation standards museums use, translated into rules you can actually follow at home — and a reference table you can lift for any material.

What temperature and humidity should art be stored at?

Store art at a stable 65–70°F and 40–55% relative humidity — the conservation standard for paintings and works on paper. The exact midpoint museums target is often cited as roughly 70°F and 50% relative humidity, but the number that matters more than any single setpoint is stability. The Canadian Conservation Institute warns that it's the fluctuation — not a slightly-off average — that does the damage: wood, canvas, and paper all expand and contract as they absorb and release moisture, and every swing works the paint layer loose from its support.

Two thresholds are worth memorizing. Above about 60–65% relative humidity, mold can begin to grow on organic materials; below about 35–40%, paper and canvas can dry, embrittle, and crack. Aiming for the middle — and keeping it there — is the whole game. A small hygrometer in your storage area costs a few dollars and tells you whether you're inside the window.

Should paintings be stored vertically or flat?

Store paintings vertically, never flat-stacked — pressure and dust ruin a flat-stored canvas. A canvas laid flat with anything resting on it will eventually show the imprint of whatever pressed into it, and dust settles directly onto the paint surface. Stand framed and stretched works upright, resting on a clean, padded surface (never directly on a concrete floor), and lean them slightly against a wall so they can't tip. Works on paper are the exception: those are best stored flat in archival boxes or drawers, where gravity won't pull them into a curl.

How do you separate and wrap stored pieces?

Keep a 1–2 inch air gap between stored canvases and separate them with acid-free board or glassine. Never let two paintings touch face-to-face — a frame corner or a high spot of impasto will press into the neighboring surface and leave a permanent mark. A sheet of acid-free mat board or glassine between each piece spreads the load and prevents transfer, and a small gap lets air move so moisture can't collect against a sealed surface.

Wrap works on paper in acid-free tissue, not plastic — plastic traps moisture and causes mold. Plastic sheeting and bubble wrap can be fine for short moves, but for storage they seal in humidity and create a micro-climate where mold thrives. Use neutral-pH, lignin-free interleaving tissue between and around paper pieces; for photographs, choose unbuffered tissue, since the alkaline buffering in some archival paper can interact with certain photographic emulsions. The Northeast Document Conservation Center recommends acid-free interleaving tissue as a fundamental storage material for any works on paper.

Gear we'd reach for

Archival materials that keep stored art safe. Affiliate links — we may earn a commission, at no cost to you.

Lineco Unbuffered Acid-Free Interleaving TissueNeutral-pH, lignin-free tissue for wrapping works on paper and slipping between stacked pieces. Unbuffered, so it's safe for photographs too.View on Amazon →Crescent Select Acid-Free Mat Board, 32×40Conservation-grade, solid white-core board to set between canvases so frames and corners never press into the next piece's surface.View on Amazon →

Where should you never store art?

Never store art in an attic, basement, or garage — temperature swings and humidity are what destroy it, not age. These are the three worst places in a typical home, and they fail for the same reason: none of them hold a stable climate. Attics overheat in summer and freeze in winter; basements run damp and flood-prone; garages share both problems plus exhaust fumes and pests. If a space isn't somewhere you'd be comfortable sitting year-round, it's not somewhere your art should live either. An interior closet on the main floor of a conditioned house beats a purpose-looking but unconditioned attic every time.

Keep stored art off the floor — at least 4 inches up — so it survives minor leaks and flooding. Even in a climate-controlled room, a burst supply line or a slow leak can put an inch of water across a floor overnight. Pallets, shelving, or simple risers lift pieces above that danger zone and let air circulate underneath so moisture can't wick up into a frame or a stretcher bar.

Short-term storage vs. long-term climate-controlled storage

For a few weeks — a move, a renovation — the priorities are simply a cool, dry, interior space, pieces stored upright with barriers between them, and everything off the floor. For anything measured in months or years, step up to genuine climate control. A dedicated climate-controlled storage unit holds temperature and humidity in the conservation window year-round, which a spare bedroom with a window AC unit cannot. If you're storing valuable originals long-term, that controlled environment is the single highest-impact purchase you can make — more important than any wrapping material.

How to handle art before you store it

Handle art with clean, dry hands or nitrile gloves — skin oils and acids transfer to the surface and etch in over time. Conservators handle paper and photographs with gloves for exactly this reason: a fingerprint pressed into a paper margin or a photo emulsion can become a permanent stain. For paintings, many conservators prefer clean bare hands for grip and to avoid snagging, but the rule is the same — wash first, touch only the frame or the edges, and never the paint or the image. Let anything that's been somewhere humid acclimate to room conditions before you seal it away, so you're not trapping moisture inside.

Storage conditions by material

Different media want slightly different conditions. Use this as a quick reference — the temperature and humidity targets below sit inside the same broad conservation window, with the notes flagging where a material has a specific quirk.

Targets reflect the broad conservation window (roughly 65–70°F, 40–55% RH) published by the National Park Service, the Canadian Conservation Institute, and the Northeast Document Conservation Center, each linked above. Photographs and other moisture-sensitive media benefit from the cooler, drier end of the range. Local quotes and individual pieces vary — when in doubt, ask a conservator.

Common mistakes that ruin stored art

The damage we see most often traces back to a short list of avoidable errors. Leaning unprotected canvases face-to-face transfers frame marks and impasto imprints. Wrapping in plastic for storage seals in moisture and grows mold. Stacking paintings flat under weight dents the surface and presses in dust. Choosing the attic or garage exposes everything to the temperature swings that loosen paint from its support. And setting pieces directly on a concrete floor invites both wicking moisture and flood damage. Every one of these is free to avoid — it's a matter of method, not money.

Storage is also the moment to make sure each piece is properly protected for the long haul. If a work is going into storage unframed or under cheap glass, it's worth knowing when a UV upgrade is justified — our museum glass framing guide covers that. If you're storing because you're about to move pieces, see our guide to how to pack and ship art. And because light is the other slow killer, our notes on how to protect art from fading apply the moment a piece comes back out of the box.

The bottom line

Store art the way a museum does and it will outlast you: a stable 65–70°F and 40–55% humidity, paintings standing upright with acid-free barriers between them, paper wrapped in tissue and never plastic, and nothing in the attic, basement, or garage. Art doesn't die of old age — it dies of bad weather indoors. Get the climate right and keep the surfaces from touching, and the rest is just good habits.

Conservation figures verified against published guidance from the National Park Service, the Canadian Conservation Institute, and the Northeast Document Conservation Center, each linked above. We did not conduct private testing; individual pieces and climates vary, and a conservator can advise on high-value works. Austin Gallery may earn a commission from links on this page at no cost to you.