What Yacht Crew Should Know About Caring for Art on Yachts

Q&A with Bellissima Luxury & Fine Art Services

Q. Art is a huge part of the personalization of a yacht, from paintings to sculptures to the furniture and even the carpet. What one or two key things should crew know about the “art” onboard a yacht?

A. We use the phrase “care, custody and control” a lot.  With that in mind, the most important thing for the crew to understand and be aware of is what is on board and under their care, custody and control. If something is removed, for any reason, (damage, refit, or perhaps the yacht is sold) you do not want to lose track of any of the objects.  So, an itemized inventory is critical including the physical location of each work.

The second thing that crew should know about the art onboard is, “What’s the plan if the art is to be removed?  Who is removing it, how will it be protected, where is it going?”

Q. When a yacht undergoes a refit, the chief stew has a million things on the “to-do” list. What is your advice as it relates to the art?

 A. Plan ahead of time! Use a fine art services provider to de-install, transport and safely store the art during a refit. Plan for this ahead of time as you would any other vendor.  If possible, the fine art services provider will conduct a site visit to confirm the scope of the job, determine the correct materials to use based on the type of art on board, review the “path of access”, provide a written Estimate, and schedule the job.  Since the removal of art must occur prior to electricity being turned off and any other work beginning, advance planning is critical to avoid delaying the refit. Sometimes very high value items must be crated to protect them during transport and storage which may require additional time.

Maintain a detailed art inventory which can be e-mailed to the fine art services provider ahead of time.  Most important, do not wait until the last minute.  You want to remove art and other valuables (and wine) before the power is turned off.

 Q.Can crew simply protect art in place during refit, or should they remove it?

 A. It depends on what is happening on the yacht, who will be working on the yacht, and the environment.  A good rule of thumb is, “If the power is being turned off – remove the art”.  Also, if the environment will become hot, dusty, congested. etc …we recommend removing the art to minimize the risk of damage.  Hot, humid conditions are very detrimental to art (and wine). Machinery or workers can accidently bump into art or other fine objects, so it is best to remove it.  This also reduces the chance of theft.  Remember…the crew is responsible to ensure the highest level of care, custody, and control of the art.

 Q. Sometimes, yacht crew will put pieces of art in a car and drive it to a storage unit. If this is what the owner expects, how can they protect the art and themselves?

A. Again: think “care, custody and control”.

If using a fine art services professional to pack and transport art is not an option, the crew must protect the art. Do not wrap it in bubble wrap.  At minimum, protect the face of the art by covering it with a piece of cardboard that is larger than the frame, so nothing leaves an imprint on the canvas.  If it is a lamp or sculpture, place it in a box and gently pack around it with tissue or brown paper to minimize movement.   Make sure the art is going into a climate controlled, secure facility where you know who will have access.

 Q. Bellissima works with a lot of different yacht crews with various types of art collections on board. Based on your experience, what should all crew know about the art onboard?

 A. In a perfect world, every yacht crew would know exactly what art is on board, where each piece is physically located, values, and understand how it is insured while on and off the yacht.  Some crew with extremely high value items on board also have specific “cleaning plans” which come from the owner’s art consultant, insurer, or a conservator.  Given everything a yacht crew has on its plate, at minimum as it relates to the art, the most important thing a yacht crew can do is maintain an accurate inventory of art on the yacht, work with a professional fine art service provider they trust, and plan ahead for the care, custody and control of the art when it off the yacht.