Like any other consignment, works of art need to reach
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their destination on time and in one piece. Tim Maughan paid a visit to London-based Art Move, a specialist art transport firm which ensures that galleries and dealers receive their wares quickly and safely...
iAr orks of art hang from the walls of galleries and dealerships across the UK, and it is firms like Art Move which make it all possible. In its 16 years, the firm has carried a
wealth of paintings; its Mercedes 31oD and 814 7.5-tonner are kept very busy. Art Move's 185m2 office and storage area is tucked away under a railway arch in Battersea, South London. Director, Alistair Adie, explains how the business began.
His friend, Stephen Sarre, who was based in Barnes, west London, knew an art dealer who regularly needed transport for his paintings. To meet this demand Sarre bought a used Corn mer van. Adie recalls: "Stephen carpeted the van out so that he could carry paintings. And when you are carrying large paintings you need some help. I started to help Stephen, and then put up the money to buy a new Renault Traffic. We were prepared to go anywhere, but most of the work was in London, with galleries, dealers, and artists."
As part of the service Sane and Adie hung paintings at their destinations, ranging from
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the homes of customers to art fairs. As the E work expanded they took on another member 0 c6of staff. in September '986. "All three of us 5 drove the van, and at that time the business was run out of my briefcase," Adie recalls. Many of us now take technological gadgets T_ for granted, but in the 198os items such as F, mobile telephones were in their infancy—
• and the price was extortionate. But Sarre and • Adie needed communication while out on the road, and paid the staggering sum of f900 for an early mobile phone. "It was worth it," says Adie, It was an invaluable tool, relieving them of the need to frequently return to their base to retrieve telephone messages.
Expansion
Sarre left Art Move in the late 19 8os, but Adic carried on. The business grew steadily and expansion meant new premises. Adie explains: "We used to operate out of my house in London, but we started to need storage space." Initially Art Move hired that space from Christie's Fine Art Security Services, then the firm moved to its present location in Battersea.
During the late 198os and early 19905, the art world enjoyed something of a boom and the opportunities were there to be taken. London is very much the hub of the UK art world and the market is immense. But the boom spread across the country, prompting Art Move to join forces with Moving Pictures, an art transport specialist in Edinburgh. Adie bought the secondhand Mercedes 814 7.5tonne box van which is in use today. That purchase was significant: Art Move had moved into HGV territory.
Ache had the Mercedes converted to air suspension. "This damps down vibration considerably," he says. Additionally, the roof of the vehicle was raised so that it could accommodate 9ft long paintings. Adie knew that if his company was to compete in the market, he had to have the right equipment.
"Moving Pictures would bring art works down to London and then we would distribute them," he says. This system worked viceversa, with Moving Pictures transporting paintings that had been taken up to Scotland by Art Move. "It was a rather good arrangement, but then the recession came along," says Adie. At this time, Art Move was operating the Mercedes 7.5-tormer as well as a Mercedes and a Renault van.
"Moving Pictures started having problems getting paid by its clients," he reflects. Adie employed a member of staff from troubled Moving Pictures, who became transport manager at Art Move, Despite the developments at Moving Pictures, Adie saw potential in the Scottish firm. He recognised the Edinburgh location— in alliance with the Art Move depot—as an ideal base to enable national transport coverage. Rather than buying Moving Pictures, Adie simply employed its staff up in Edinburgh. "It was a mutually beneficial arrangement," he says. The Moving Pictures staff were kept in work and Adie had a presence in Scotland.
"But then the work evaporated in Scotland; it just collapsed," says Adie. As a result, he ceased operations in Scotland. Fortunately for Art Move, people are always buying and selling art in London; and then there is the volume of galleries and museums in the capital.
Today Art Move has its sole base in London. There is a mass of activity for the firm in the city—including delivering and hanging paintings at the Palace of Westminster. The decision to buy the Mercedes 814 7.5-tonner pro pelled the firm into a new phase. Adie says that it transports paintings nationwide to destinations such as Nottingham University. Art Move's Mercedes 81.4 is used for such trips, and is fitted with a double sleeper cab. It is essential that there is accommodation for two drivers, according to Adie. Not only are two people needed to carry the paintings; there are also security implications. For example, at a garage one man can get out to refuel the vehicle while the other minds its valuable cargo.
The firm's Mercedes 31oD van is typically operated across the South-East. Additionally, Art Move runs a more compact Citroen people carrier, which is ideal for collecting paintings from galleries in congested London streets. "It gives me that extra capacity," comments Adie.
Are there any day-to-day problems exclusive to art transportation? What about the customers? Adie says: "Most of them are great. They understand what the limitations are, and we strive to give them a good service." He explains that the customers are always given an approximate time of arrival; the firm promises that one of its vehicles will arrive at its destination within a given two-hour period.
Timing
Punctuality is important, Adie says critics and spectators don't want to look at blank walls at a prestigious exhibition. Art Move has to get the works there and then get them hanging in the right place—arid some paintings may be roft long.
With expensive paintings in transit, proper insurance is vital. Art Move has taken out a specialist art transport policy.
For Adie, problems in the haulage industry are made by the Government, not the customer. He says of the fuel escalator and VED tax: "These are anti-competitive and ways of garnering the green vote—and crudely kicking the hauliers in the teeth."
To achieve those environmental aims, Adie believes the Government should offer more incentives, such as introducing tax breaks on new vehicles.
Drawbacks there may be, but after 16 years in this niche market, Art Move has stayed in the haulage business. Ache's vehicles have carried some of the world's most famous paintings, such as works by Monet and Constable. "You name it, we will carry it," he says.
FACTFILE Art Move
BASED Battersea, South London.
FOUNDED Barnes, west London, 19 83.
CONTACT Alistair Adie, director.
FLEET One Mercedes 814 7.5-tonner and one
Mercedes 3100 van. Buys new and second-hand. Most recent purchase: Mercedes 3100 van, 1996.
SPECIALITY Transporting art works; also hanging paintings.