All about Lighting

The bad news is all light is harmful to artwork.  The good news is that there are a range of choices you have to minimize the ill effects of energy found within different light sources.

What does the UV actually do to artwork?

Light holds three forms of energy, UV, visible light and Infrared. Each harms artwork differently. While ultraviolet contains harmful heat, it is UV that is the most dangerous, acting upon the art pigments, fading them so that they become invisible to our eye.

Sunlight: Has the largest amount of UV energy as well as Infrared energy.  Hanging original art in direct sunlight is a no-no, the combination of heat and light exposure shall reduce its lifespan dramatically.  Even the diffused sunlight light within your home will cause fading, and so it is recommended that all artwork be protected by a UV filtering glass.  

Florescent Lighting: While Florescent lighting has the least amount of Ultraviolet light, it is high in UV.  Further, a florescent light does not emit light across the full spectrum of colours, which changes the apparent colour of the artwork.  Museums and Galleries don’t use Florescent.

Tungsten Lighting: emits fairly low level UV, it is the safest current option for artwork, but caution must be exercised with the heat that the light gives off, particularly with photographs (which last longest in cold conditions).

Halogen: Although museum professionals have not "blessed" the halogen light because of the strong white light that it emits, halogens are among the best lighting solutions if installed properly. A low watt halogen-based bulb has been recently introduced which redirects damaging UV and infrared rays of light.