Guide
How to pack pictures for moving
A picture has three things that get damaged — the corners of the frame, the glass and the surface of the canvas. Packing it means protecting all three, in that order.
Updated October 1, 2026
What you'll need
- Plain packing paper or tissue paper, to go against the picture
- Bubble wrap
- Cardboard — store-bought corner protectors, or strips cut from a box
- Painter's tape and wide packing tape
- A box for packing pictures — a flat picture or mirror box made for the job, or two flattened boxes cut to size
Step by step
Secure the glass
On pictures with glass, put two strips of painter's tape across the glass in an X. If it breaks, the pieces stay stuck to the tape instead of scratching the artwork.
Paper first
Wrap the picture in plain paper. The paper is what touches the frame and the canvas — the bubble wrap comes after, on the outside.
Protect the corners
A cardboard corner protector on each corner, held with tape. The corners are where a picture takes the knocks.
Bubble wrap all around
Two layers, closed with packing tape. Bubbles facing out, so they don't leave marks.
In a snug box, standing up
The picture goes into a box that fits it, with the sides filled with paper, and travels upright — never lying flat, and never with anything on top. Write “Fragile” and “Do not lay flat”.
Pictures in frames with glass
They’re the most fragile and the most common. The best way to pack pictures in frames is the one above: the X of tape on the glass, the paper, the corners and the bubble wrap handle almost every case. If the frame is carved or gilded, add more paper — raised detail dents easily.
Mirrors are packed exactly the same way.
Paintings on canvas, without glass
On a painting without glass, what you’re protecting is the surface. Plain paper or tissue paper over it, not pulled tight, and only then the bubble wrap. Never plastic against the paint, and never newspaper.
If the paint is fresh — a few weeks old — it’s best that nothing touches it at all: a cardboard border around it, standing higher than the canvas, keeps the wrapping away from the paint.
How to pack large pictures and paintings
A large picture rarely fits in a box. Make one to measure: two large flattened boxes, one on each side, like two slices of bread, taped all the way around. Inside, the same wrapping as always.
A large picture takes two people to carry and travels upright, against a wall of the moving truck and tied down so it can’t tip over — ideally between two mattresses or two moving blankets.
Several small pictures
They can go in the same box, standing on edge like records, each one wrapped and with a sheet of cardboard between them. Fill the gaps so they don’t knock against each other.
How to pack pictures for storage
The best way to pack pictures for storage is the same wrapping, with three extra precautions: upright and never lying flat, off the floor, and in a dry place without big swings in temperature. Don’t seal them tight in plastic for months — paper lets them breathe, plastic traps moisture.
The right paper
Plain paper, with no print on it, and acid-free if the piece is valuable. Tissue paper is the softest; brown kraft paper works for most pictures. Not newspaper: the ink stains.
Mistakes to avoid
- Stacking pictures flat on top of each other. All the weight lands on the glass of the one at the bottom.
- Putting bubble wrap directly against a painted canvas. It can leave marks in the paint.
- Using regular tape on the glass or the frame. It leaves residue — on glass, only painter's tape.
- Putting several pictures in the same box without cardboard between them.
- Forgetting the corners. That's where almost every frame arrives damaged.