As we prepare for our upcoming Capital Redevelopment Transforming Crawford Art Gallery, we have started to decant over 3,500 works of the National Collection housed at Crawford Art Gallery. These works will be moved to secure storage, and to other institutions for Touring and Sharing. Samuel Forde’s Fall of the Rebel Angels (1828) stands at a monumental almost 3 metre height, and has been in our Collection for over 110 years.

To begin the process of decanting one of our largest works, a team of expert technicians carefully remove the work from the wall.

Image: Chloé Griffin

Due to its dimensions the painting is unframed for safety measures, and the frame is treated separately.

Image: Chloé Griffin

After the work is removed, our Registrar and Arts Conservator conduct a thorough condition check to ensure the painting is safe for packing and to document any potential future conservation the work may require.

Image: Chloé Griffin

Once these steps are complete, the artwork is securely packed into a wooden travel frame (T-Frame) for protection and prepared for storage until it is ready to be returned to a new Crawford Art Gallery.

Image: Chloé Griffin

To watch our Curator of Collections & Special Projects Dr Michael Waldron describe this process in more detail, watch the below video!