The National Gallery, London have conducted a series of tests on the effects of flight direction on Paintings.

A paper, based on their findings, has been submitted to the International Council of Museums Conservation Conference (ICOM-CC) which will take place in The Hague next September 2005.
It is not known at this stage if the test results will be released
prior to the Conference next year.

The Tate Gallery was contacted about this subject and they commented that, as far as the Tate is concerned, the potential stress incurred by being against the flight direction is not significant when considered along side the whole range of risks associated with moving an artwork. They do not consider this a priority for a courier to address.

If any ICEFAT Member has experience to the contrary with a courier at the time of palletizing a shipment or, indeed, has been requested to ensure that an artwork is loaded in the direction of flight, we would like to hear from you.

Tim Lock