How to Care for Fine Art

Mar 18, 2015 | Housekeeping

How to Care for Fine Art Aboard a Superyacht

“Life is like a work of art. If you don’t like what you see — paint over it.”

Fine art aboard a superyacht is not decoration in the conventional sense. It is a collection — carefully curated, personally chosen by the owner, and in many cases extraordinarily valuable. A painting selected because it reminds the principal of somewhere they love, or a sculpture commissioned from an artist they admire, carries a significance that goes far beyond its market value.

Your role as a stewardess is not to clean it. It is to protect it.

That distinction matters. Fine art requires the lightest possible touch, the right tools, and above all, an understanding of what you should and should not do. When in doubt, the correct answer is almost always: do less, not more.

What Counts as Fine Art on Board?

Fine art encompasses any item created primarily for aesthetic rather than functional purposes — oil paintings, watercolours, prints, sculptures, bronzes, ceramics, mixed media pieces, and installations. On a superyacht, these pieces vary enormously in medium, age, fragility, and value.

Before you approach any artwork, identify what you are dealing with. An oil painting on canvas requires a completely different approach to a bronze sculpture, and a contemporary print is handled differently to an antique watercolour. Knowing what you have is the essential first step.

If the vessel holds significant or high-value works, request an art inventory from the owner’s representative or management company. This document should note each piece, its medium, its location, and any specific care instructions. If one does not exist, recommend that one is created.

Before You Begin

Never attempt to clean, move, or treat a piece of artwork without the appropriate preparation. Even well-intentioned handling can cause irreversible damage.

A few non-negotiables before you begin:

• Identify the medium. What is it made of? How was it created? How old is it? The more you know before you touch it, the better.
• Wear cotton gloves. The natural oils in human skin transfer to surfaces on contact and can cause long-term damage to both paint and sculptural materials. Cotton gloves are essential — not optional.
• Ensure good, stable conditions in the space. Fine art is sensitive to extremes of temperature, humidity, and light. The same environmental principles that apply to lacquered wood apply here: a stable room temperature of 18–22 degrees Celsius and a humidity level of between 40 and 60 percent is ideal.

What You Will Need

• White cotton service gloves
• A soft, clean makeup brush or fine-bristled artist’s brush
• A soft duster
• Clean white microfibre cloths

That is all. Fine art does not require specialist cleaning products for routine maintenance — and introducing any product without professional guidance is a risk not worth taking.

Cleaning Instructions

Step 1: Put your gloves on before you touch anything. This is not a step to skip or return to. Gloves go on first, before any contact with the artwork or its frame.

Step 2: Dust gently with a soft brush. Using a clean, soft makeup brush or fine artist’s brush, gently remove loose dust particles from the surface of the artwork. Use the lightest possible touch and work carefully — never press the brush into the surface or use any kind of sweeping or scrubbing motion. For sculptures, work around the form with the same gentle approach, paying particular attention to recesses and details where dust accumulates.

Step 3: Dust the frame with a microfibre cloth. Using a clean white microfibre cloth, gently wipe the frame — being careful not to allow the cloth to drag across the surface of the artwork itself. For ornate or gilded frames, use a soft brush rather than a cloth to avoid catching on any raised details.

Step 4: Do not go further than this. For routine maintenance, this is all that is required. Do not apply any cleaning product, polish, wax, or spray to any artwork or its frame without explicit guidance from a professional art conservator or the owner’s representative. The damage caused by well-intentioned overcleaning is one of the most common — and most heartbreaking — forms of art loss on board.

Handling and Moving Artwork

There will be occasions when artwork needs to be removed from the wall — during deep cleaning, a charter changeover, or when the vessel is undergoing maintenance. When this happens:

• Always use two hands. Support the piece fully — one hand on each side, or one supporting the base for sculptures. Never grip a painting by its frame alone, and never carry it one-handed.
• Never lean artwork against a sharp corner. Canvas, frames, and sculptural surfaces damage easily on impact. If a piece needs to be set down, place it flat against a padded surface or hold it supported until it can be re-hung.
• Cover artwork when carpets or nearby surfaces are being cleaned. The spray, moisture, and chemical particles from carpet cleaning products can travel further than expected and settle on surrounding surfaces.
• Cover or protect any artwork during painting or varnishing works on board. Even fumes from nearby painting can affect the surface of a canvas over time.

Environmental Considerations

The environment in which artwork is kept is as important as how it is handled. On a superyacht — with sea air, strong sunlight, and the movement and vibration of life at sea — art is under a unique set of pressures.

Sunlight: UV exposure is one of the most damaging forces acting on fine art. Fading, cracking, and yellowing can occur gradually and are largely irreversible. Pull blinds or shades when artwork is in direct or prolonged sunlight, particularly during sea passages when the vessel is unattended.

Salt air: Salt air is corrosive, and metal sculptures and frames are particularly susceptible. Regular, gentle dusting will help — but if you notice any signs of oxidation, discolouration, or surface change on a metal piece, do not attempt to treat it yourself. Have it attended to by a professional conservator.

Fragrance and sprays: Never spray air freshener, room fragrance, furniture polish, or any other aerosol product near artwork. The fine particles settle on surfaces invisibly and accumulate over time, affecting both the surface of the artwork and the finish of its frame.

Vibration: On a working vessel, the vibration of engines, generators, and sea movement can gradually loosen the fixings of wall-mounted pieces. Check that all artwork is securely hung on a regular basis — particularly after long passages or heavy weather.

When to Call a Professional

The most important advice in this entire article is this: know the limits of what you should handle yourself.

If a piece of artwork has been damaged — a scratch, a crack, flaking paint, a dented sculpture, discolouration, or any visible deterioration — do not attempt to repair or treat it. Report it immediately to the captain and the owner’s representative, document it with photographs, and arrange for a professional art conservator to assess it.

The same applies to any significant cleaning beyond light dusting. Deep cleaning, restoration, and the removal of any staining or residue on fine art is specialist work and should always be carried out by a qualified professional.

Your job is to keep the art dust-free, protected from its environment, and handled with the absolute care and respect it deserves. Everything beyond that is a professional’s territory.