Hi Lara,
As the acting C2C Care community monitor, I'd like to thank you for posting this question to the community. For oil paintings, relative humidity levels above 70-75% elevate the risk of mold growth and structural instability. If the painting is on a wood stretcher, the wood is at risk of expanding while the canvas is at risk of contracting/shrinking increasing the strain on and destabilization of the paint layers. Here are links to CCI Notes 10/4 Environmental Guidelines for Paintings and Structural Response to Relative Humidity for your reference.
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Sharon Fickeissen
Connecting to Collections Care Monitor
Senior Library Conservation Technician
Hagley Museum & Library
Wilmington DE
sfickeissen@hagley.org------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 07-03-2025 09:13
From: Lana Newhart-Kellen
Subject: Rh for oil paintings
Hi all,
I was wondering what the top end of humidity levels are for oil paintings.
Thanks.
Lana Newhart-Kellen
Collections & Facilities Manager/Purdue Galleries
Patti & Rusty Rueff School of Design, Art & Performance
Harrison Hall/HARR C-14B
107 MacArthur Drive
West Lafayette IN 47906
765-496-2816
ljnewhar@purdue.edu
