Risks of LOANING Artwork Between Museums

A recent article explains the National Gallery of London's stance on loaning artworks; the are hesitant to loan artworks.

The author of the article explains that artworks can be damaged as they are brought down off the wall. Depending on the age of the painting, as well as the quality of the framing, the artwork may break apart from the frame or crack when it is removed from where it rested on the wall, perhaps rested for decades!

As time goes by and artworks age, mother nature makes them more fragile. To continue the tradition of traveling exhibitions and reuniting collections , a method will need to be developed to ensure safety for the artwork that will travel to another location. If not, the days of traveling exhibitions may come to an end.

A very interesting scholarly report is attached in PDF form. Take a moment to read the author's opinion about "moving artwork". What is YOUR opinion?
ArtWatch UK Journal 22, Autumn 2007
Blockbuster Exhibitions: the Hidden Costs and Perils
A Report, in Honour of James Beck
By Michael Daley and Michael Savageat attached in PDF form.

The article takes a TURN and begins to discuss the concept of restoration. The debate in restoration is do you allow the work to age or do you bring it back to its original state? At this moment, until I learn more, I am on the side of allowing an artwork to age; let nature be the only "one" that works on the painting after the artist. What is YOUR opinion?