Keeping an Eye on the Future: Preservation Framing Becomes the Norm

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More than a decade ago, David McGuire, owner of McGuire Fine Arts Gallery and Framing in Frederick, Md., tried to sell UV-coated glass to one of his customers for a framing project. She declined. "She has since come in, apologized and said the pieces faded and she did not enjoy them any more," he said.

Today, McGuire, like many framers, said that he performs preservation framing on nearly all his jobs. With the wider selection of conservation-quality products available, and with customers coming in to frame shops armed with archival-process knowledge, framers and vendors are reporting a preservation trend that shows no signs of fading.

In its "Guide to Preservation Matting and Framing," the U.S. Library of Congress defines preservation flaming as "the appropriate housing to display the intrinsic beauty and interest of an object while prolonging its life by securing the object in a mechanically and chemically safe environment." More specifically, it must protect the artwork from such environmental factors as air pollution, heat, humidity and light while doing no harm to the piece. The Library of Congress provides basic guidelines for materials and techniques that must be used to accomplish this on its Web …