Art Collection Protection of course doesn’t refer to making sure nobody steals the kid’s drawings off the fridge-not that those aren’t precious too-but to the protection of valuable pieces of art. Generally the first two things that come to mind in this scenario are paintings and statues or busts.
While there are other forms of art, those two are certainly the most popular. They are also relatively easy to steal. With smaller pieces it is simply a question of pocketing the piece and leaving with it. With bigger paintings, sometimes the painting can be cut from the frame and taken away without it. Larger and especially heavier items are much more difficult to steal and hide, therefore protecting them is easier.
For easier to steal items, there is a variety of art security measures that can be taken. For paintings, it’s possible to lock them to the wall, like it’s often done in hotels. Small busts or statues can be put in display cases with alarms. In a similar way, larger paintings can be set up with an alarm that goes off when the frame is moved.
A far more simple method of art protection is, of course, to simply make sure that the surroundings of the art are secure as well. Simply storing art in a safe may not be much aesthetically, however it minimises risk of theft.
The same principle applies to a secure front door and window locks. Granted, most homes that have pricy art would already have fairly good security measures, however improving them can only be an advantage in the long run!
Generally, art is stolen in one of two situations. The first one, a robbery or a break-in means that the thieves need to break in to gain access to the house. The other one is a much more veiled threat to art security. In the second scenario the thief gains access without breaking in, for example through a party or a ruse. That makes accessing it much easier and reduces the risk involved in the theft. Surprisingly enough it is just as easy to defend against the second as the first. For the most part being very cautious about who is allowed into the house will go a long way. That may not always be easy with parties, however, asking unfamiliar faces about who they are there with will reduce the risk of sticky fingers significantly.
