Museum glass vs. window glass

Museum glass in a picture frame offers both UV protection and anti-mirror effect.

So it says.

I wanted to test it out, not the UV protection, but the anti-reflective properties.

Since I like to work on paper, be it in pastels, watercolor, oil with the dry-brush technique or graphite, framing pieces is the default (there are some alternatives, I will write about those some other time). Anyway, the reflection of standard window glass can actually destroy the effect of the brilliant colors of a pastel or watercolor work.

In the last few days, I worked on some eye studies and I framed them partly behind museum glass and partly behind the standard glass that usually comes with the frame. First off, here are the studies as they appear without glass (scanned images, not photographed):

And this is how they appear framed:

Studies in watercolor and colored pencil, on the left behind museum glass, on the right behind window glass. When viewed from the front, you can definitely see a difference in how reflective the glasses are.

Depending on the angle, you will see a reflection even in the museum glass.

Studies in pastel, here it’s the other way around: on the left behind window glass, on the right museum glass.

My verdict: At an extreme angle and in harsh lighting, you will definitely see a reflection even with museum glass. But when standing right in front of the piece, the colors will definitely appear truer to what they are. It’s as if there’s no glass between you and the artwork. Especially with the pastel pieces I found the difference striking, and the museum glass definitely did its job. You could of course use cheaper anti-reflective acrylic glass, but that’s more prone to scratches and doesn’t offer the UV protection. If you only care about UV protection, there’s a glass for that, too (please don’t hang your piece in direct sunlight either way). But museum glass offers both. And if you display a treasured original, you might as well spend a little more to get the best glass possible. You’ll thank yourself for years to come.