What's the point of gluing brown paper to the backside of a wooden picture frame? It must be just to mess with my head. I want to open up this framed cel I bought off eBay two years ago so I can move the art, mats and all, to a new frame that's not all scratched to hell... but it feels so weird to contemplate attacking it with a razor blade or ripping it open with my bare hands like gift wrap on Christmas morning. It's like that paper being glued down is saying "No, this is sealed never to be touched again!" :P
It is a protective barrier to help protect the art and the mat from condensation which might warp or wrinkle the art or the mat board. Condensation can also lead to mold/mildew growth and maybe foxing?
You can remove it if you want and re-mat and reframe the cel, no big deal. But it might be worth getting a frame shop to put another piece of paper on the back. Should only cost a couple bucks, really. The just custom cut the paper and stick it to the frame with double sided tape. Not sure if the materials are archival (no acid) or not, but they ought to be.
Also, it keeps dirt and bugs from crawling into the back of the frame.
Archival paper is only necessary in insanely high-level conservation work. For the vast majority of artwork, it's only really necessary to worry about what's going to come into contact with the art itself. That means the mats and the backing, and occasionally the frame. Since the backing paper shouldn't touch the artwork, it's a low priority.
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