About
The Frame Blog is a specialist online magazine devoted to the study of antique picture frames; it is now in a research partnership with the National Gallery, London.
It publishes essays on frames of all eras and nationalities, as well as interviews with people of interest in the world of historic frames, and reviews of related exhibitions, books and catalogues. It is a magazine for everyone who is interested in antique picture frames – their designers and makers, their history, their conservation, how they fit into museums and collections, and as aesthetic objects in themselves.
Contributors include curators and conservators from major museums, as well as art historians and authors with an interest in the field.
The Frame Blog was started in August 2012, and is run and edited by a picture frame historian, Lynn Roberts. Lynn has worked as archivist, researcher and author at Paul Mitchell Ltd., for the frame section of the National Portrait Gallery website, and at the National Gallery.
The Frame Blog acknowledges with gratitude the support of its sponsors, who wish to remain anonymous.
The Frame Blog can also be followed on Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, Mastodon and Facebook.
The Frame Blog 
This is absolutely a beautiful blog, I enjoy it so much. I have a Maurice Quentin de La Tour frame, I am not quite sure what to do with it. It is gorgeous and in beautiful condition. There are two identical that sold at Christie’s with Jean-Baptiste Le Prince paintings in them. It is unique in that it has an oval in the center.
I would have never known who made the frame!
Thank you!
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That is such a nice comment, and I’m really glad if one of the articles – or even more – has or have been of help. What could be better, from my point of view! Good luck with your frame; you have various ways in which you might enjoy it: by keeping it, and hanging it either empty, or on a painting; by selling it at auction; or by donating it to a museum which might be able to use it, and having your name remembered in connection with it…
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Your blog is just wonderful. Thank you for making the topic of frames so interesting. But I have a question on when, where and why the modern black museum frame came into use? Also black has seemed to turn to white – what is that all about?
Thank you
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Thank you – how kind of you!
I don’t know exactly when black or white frames were first used in museums; some time in the 20th century, when exhibitions of drawings, prints and watercolours became more common, I suppose, and loans needed to be reframed – either to avoid very idiosyncratic frames on works from private collections, or just to provide a uniform effect which might be thought of as less distracting. However, if you read ‘Turner’s picture frames: Part 2′, you will see that Ruskin had his own solution to framing his collection of Turner’s watercolours in the 1860s; he said of his design that ‘The frame is of white pine; because the whiter the wood, the less it hurts the colour of the sketch’. And prints have been framed for several hundred years in relatively plain black mouldings, sometimes with a gilt sight edge.
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Hi, Could you tell me anything about Walter Hutchinson. I have a frame with his label on the back. I do not know who the artist of the print is but thought I might get a clue from the frame-maker. Thank you so much Jennifer
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I’m very sorry, but I’m afraid that I haven’t heard of him. There were so many small framemakers through the centuries producing frames for prints in practiclaly every town. The best thing to do would be to take your print to your nearest local large museum; they might be able to help you.
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Dear Lynn,
I was noodling around the internet looking for stuff about Madame de Pompadour, and I came across a rather wonderful poem that I think you must have written (it was a comment on this post https://neiljeffares.wordpress.com/2014/10/06/is-this-the-real-mme-de-pompadour/). I’m guessing that it’s from your book ‘A Brush with Poetry’? I have to confess I don’t generally read a lot of poetry, but this was so delightful and clever that I had to copy it down right away. The repeating form is very interesting, is it a pantoum? Anyway, it was a very serendipitous discovery and I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed it. I might have to track down a copy of your book.
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Dear Sophie –
How kind – thank you so much! – email in the post.
With best wishes,
Lynn
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I have set of gilded picture frames with a crowned letter N on the bottom with a picture of Napoleon Bonaparte on horseback. My great grandma got them from her aunt. Can anybody help me out.
Bucky
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The best thing that you can do is to take them to your largest local museum, I think.`
Good luck!
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Would would appreciate s photo of label for william saltmarsh,miirrors/frames or suggest where i might find such,
Thanks. J.P.
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You can find an entry on William Saltmarsh here, in Jacob Simon’s Directory of British Picture Framemakers, on the NPG website; it gives details of published examples of Saltmarsh’s label. I hope that this is of assistance.
Good luck!
https://www.npg.org.uk/research/conservation/directory-of-british-framemakers/s/
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When I visit a museum, I usually spend more time admiring and thinking about the frame and not so much about the work within. Your blog is so informative and enjoyable to people like me-thank you!
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Well, I’m really pleased that you’ve found it interesting and of use; and thank you very much indeed for taking the time to tell me so!
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hello was wondering if you could date or give details of a very old frame with pegged lap joints
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I’m very sorry, but those details give very little evidence indeed. I would suggest that you take the frame into your nearest large museum with a furniture and/or framing department, so that they can examine the actual item…
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What an interesting blog. Thank you for taking the time to report all this. I notice you referred a few people to museums with frame conservation departments for help identifying old frames… could you possibly recommend one in the US? My cousins were multi-generation antique dealers in Paris, and one of them left me a family portrait with a very large frame. She warned me that the frame was much older than the painting, (17th century she said) and that people would try to tell me it was worthless, because it’s rather crude looking. (Indeed, when I had the painting appraised, the appraiser said the frame was worthless! ) Well, now that I see some crude Baroque Spanish frames on your blog, I realize that someone out there does indeed know something about this! Perhaps my long wait for information is over.
If you had a 17th century, probably Spanish frame, what museum would you contact?
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Thank you for such a nice comment!
You probably need the Hispanic Society of America in New York; here is a link to the contact page. You need to take some high-res photos of the whole frame, close-ups of the corners (and centres, if applicable), a raking shot (so that the profile is apparent), and some pictures of the reverse (the joints, etc).
You should be able to email these – although possibly in two or three goes – as soon as you have alerted somebody there to your questions. Of course, if you live in or near New York, you may perhaps be able to make an appointment to take the frame in in person; I don’t know whether US museums do this, but it’s worth asking.
You may be put in touch with one of the contributors to The Frame Blog, but I feel that it might be better to go through the museum.
Good luck!
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Is it allowed to translate your posts and publish translations (with links to original blog and full and correct attribution, of course)?
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Yes, of course – if you state clearly at the top of the translation where it comes from and who wrote it, and provide links to the original article at the beginning and the end, then I am only too pleased for as many people as possible to have access to it.
Thank you for contacting me!
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hi Lucy, I was passed your blog details by a curator of a museum, as I am trying to date a frame, whilst researching a pastel. is there an email address to send you images of the frame. many thanks in advance
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I’m so sorry – I do not know a Lucy, and sadly I don’t have the time to respond to individual frame dating requests, as I’m self-employed. The best place to try would probably be the V & A Woodwork Department. Send them a large high-res image of front, back, corner and raking corner.
Good luck and best wishes,
Lynn
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hi
I have two paintings one 16th and the other with a strange frame that I’m looking to find more info about if possible.
my email is spnikolas@yahoo.com
if someone could help me to identify
Nikolas
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Dear Nikolaos –
The best thing to do is to consult your local museum, or – depending which country you’re in – a large national museum with a frame conservation department.
Take large high-res photos of the front, the back, a corner and a raking corner.
Good luck and best wishes,
Lynn
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Season’s greetings, Lynn.
Sending warm wishes for a great holiday season 2017 and joyous new year 2018!
And many congratulations for the current “Style Snapshot” in December issue of Picture Framing Magazine. I’ve been wondering when Auricular would appear. Love that carved uneven sight edge. The finest example, indeed.
Warmest regards,
Barrie
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Lynn, it’s Heidi Rosenau from the Frick…the person with whom you’ve been talking on our Facebook page. Joe Godla, our conservator who is overseeing our survey, has shared with me an article he published in our members magazine in 2010…and he can keep me updated on the prospect of getting ours online. There’s a lot of work to do, but he was thrilled that we were in contact. Anyway, I would like to send you the PDF of that members magazine article if it interests you. What is your email address?
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Dear Heidi –
How nice of you to contact me, and I am really glad that you will be putting your frame survey online. I’d love to have the pdf of the article, please; and perhaps I could review the survey here when it is finally online? A curator reviewed the YCBA catalogue for me, and I wrote a review of the Royal Collection partial survey.
Thank you again – my email is lynnrobertsart at hotmail dot com.
V. best wishes,
Lynn
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Dear Lynn, I live in Arizona and acquired a pastel with a very unique frame. I’ve done considerable research and thanks to others I have been able to determine it is “cadre Degas” from about 1900, likely French, but the pastel inside, while very nice, is not a Degas. It is not signed or dated. The frame is 15-3/4″ W X 23-1/4″ H, the pastel inside the frame is 10-1/4″ W x 17-1/2″ H and the sides surrounding the pastel are 3-3/16″ The mitres are joined with wood splines, not nails On the back of the frame at the bottom is a maker’s mark which is quite faint, but I was able digitally enhance the mark so a little bit is legible. It looks roughly like the one you should see if you google “Cadre en bois mouluré et doré de type Degas” However, mine has 21 gilded ridges that are flat on the top, and 20 valleys that are rounded and filled with black paint or something else. The top of the frame is flat. There are no other embellishments on it. Is there a way I could send photos of this to you to see if you or another of the experts who contribute to this blog can unwrap the mystery of who made this frame?
Thank you,
John
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p.s. A better description of a similar frame might be the Degas frame shown in the close up of a corner for Danseuse au repos in Tag: Degas’s frames dated Oct 3, 2016. Close up of that section looks very similar except I have gilding on top, his are in the valleys, and I have paint in the valleys, his is on top. General shape looks the same.
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Hello Lynn,
Your work is unusually enlightening. Your research and photography sets the bar for explorations of the role of frames in the history of artwork.
Could I ask if it’s possible to get any higher resolution images of your frame photos?
Could I also ask if you know of frame-maker craftspeople who can duplicate the detail of many, if not any, of the frames you document?
Regards,
Robert
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Dear Robert –
Thank you for such a kind comment; I’m so glad that you’ve enjoyed the articles here. I’m replying to you by email – I hope that’s OK.
With best wishes,
Lynn
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Reviewing the Burlington article: Great source of information again!
Funnily enough – the National Gallery of Ireland is in the process of putting the “Dublin Titian Frame” by the Florentine Vincenzo Bolci back on the Titian. The frame was conserved in 2001 by a team lead by Kathryn Day Carrigan and displayed on its own for quite some time. In the light of a now completed 6 year refurbishment of the National Gallery of Irland the new rehang is accomodating for both together.
Kind regards
Ele von Monschaw, NGI Paintings Conservator.
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Thank you – how kind of you; – and how surprising that the frame by Bolci is being returned to the Titian: this is very much against the trend of current fashion. However, given that it is a trophy frame commissioned specifically for the painting by such a notorious frame eccentric as Demidoff, his fans will be delighted. I read the report of the conservation project with great interest, and saw that it was hanging emptily in a courtyard; I did consider writing to ask you to put a reproduction of the Titian inside it!
With best wishes,
Lynn
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Ms Roberts,
Thank you for this lovely collection.
I have just found it but already feel rich
and recompensed.
cheers,
Hector Moll-Carrillo
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Dear Mr Moll-Carrillo –
Thank you for such a very kind compliment, and for taking the time & trouble to contact me; I do appreciate it, and I hope that you continue to enjoy The Frame Blog.
With best wishes,
Lynn
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Mrs Roberts,
I have a few questions on your article “A signed frame by Jean Chérin”.
First, let me introduce myself to better understand those questions.
I’am wood-gilder and used to work in the Musée du Louvre’s workshop for frame conservation. For several years, I did researches on François-Charles Buteux, his frames and recently published an article on the ones preserved in the Musée du Louvre. This article has been released into “les Cahiers d’Histoire de l’art, n°14” at the end of 2016.
In your article, it said :
“In furthering this study of Chérin and other framemakers who signed their work, the author would be extremely grateful to hear from curators who can identify further examples. The names of 18th century French framemakers, known by their marks, recorded to date by the author, are as follows:
François-Charles Buteux”
but, as far as I know, no frame from Buteux has been found with a stamp. He was a carver (although he surely made a lot of structures…) and not a frame-maker
This was my first question….
The second one is about the passage :
“There are signed examples of their work in the following collections:
The Wallace Collection: Henri Létonné, on Boucher, Shepherd & shepherdess, 1761, fig. 26 below ”
Is this frame surrounding a painting by Boucher as a stamp “Létonné” ?
That would be a great surprise as it’s a typicall frame that Buteux used to carve for portraits, (by example the oval copies of Louis XVI by J-S Duplessis). Many examples are known and certified, not by a stamp (for the reason I said), but by the archives… BUT, I had never seen any stamp from frame-maker on a Buteux frame.
Could you please send me informations about this frame if you you have more ?
Best regards,
Damien Lepage
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Dear M. Lepage –
Thank you very much for your interesting comment. I have sent it to the author of the article, who has said that he will respond to it in a week or so, when he’s back in his office.
I would be very interested in publishing an English translation of your article on Buteux, if this were possible…?
With best wishes,
Lynn
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Dear Lynn,
I am a framemaker for a museum in New York City, and I have been working my way through your archive for the past year. It is truly a treasure trove of information on a subject that is too often overlooked. Thank you for creating this forum for makers and curators alike!
I am working on reproducing some of Degas’ designs, as well as some post-impressionist and Nabi era frames. I have made a number of dies based on impressions of actual Cluzel era frames, with the intention of making gesso extrusions. Do you happen to know and framemakers who make molding by gesso extrusion, and who would be willing to share a recipe for the thickened gesso?
Best,
Peter
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Dear Peter –
How nice to meet you, and thank you for such a kind comment!
I don’t know anyone offhand, but shall inquire on your behalf. How interesting that you call it ‘gesso extrusion’; I had thought of it more as an advance on combed gesso, and – coincidentally – was looking at at one of those Degas style frames the other day, probably made after the fact by Cluzel et al., which has markings on the wooden rabbet. I commented on these, and the answer was that they were probably made when the moulding was being pulled through the machine to create the flutes and reeds.
I shall go and investigate.
With best wishes,
Lynn
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Hello Lynn,
Thanks for your help. I think the answer you received regarding machining is correct; most of the designs in Degas’ sketchbooks, and many that Cluzel realized, can be executed by a combination of milling and carving. The moldings that are prime candidates for gesso extrusion are the most delicate deeply fluted cushions, and his famous cock’s comb frames by Cluzel.
I have been looking very closely at period frames from this era, and especially in the damaged areas, to see just how much of the shape is wood versus gesso. Many are shaped by milling the wood. Some are made by applied compo. And there are a handful that exhibit a layer of shaped gesso that is too thick to have been painted on and recarved evenly, but too thin to be applied compo.
The original Cuzel/cock’s comb on Degas’ bather at the Metropolitan exhibits a very thick layer of whiting that is very uniform, suggesting that is was made by combing a die across thick gesso to create the very delicate undulating molding.
Thanks again,
Peter
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Am not a fine arts specialist but wanted to tell you that (through Twitter) you’ve revolutionized the way I look at paintings. Just wanted to thank you (though, sometimes, am disappointed in a frame, so that can happen, too!).
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Dear Jackie –
What a really nice comment; thank you so much – you couldn’t have said anything better!
We are all sometimes – perhaps often – disappointed in frames, but seeing how much difference they make to the paintings they surround is a way of finding out what might be better solutions, historically and aesthetically, and perhaps ending up with something altogether more suitable, and more what the artist or patron imagined on his work. I want to collect as much information here as possible, so that there is no excuse for curators to frame pictures inappropriately or to put up with hideous ancient mistakes – so please do pass me on to anyone who might be interested…!
…and thank you again for taking the time to send such a kind message.
With best wishes,
Lynn
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The blog is very interesting!
It was useful for research during my thesis about the Sansovino frame and your articles have been very valuable!
Congratulations!
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Dear Erica –
Please forgive this very belated response – I am rather snowed under.
I’m so glad that you’ve found the articles here of use, and I hope that you’ll continue to read them. Thank you for such a nice comment!
With best wishes,
Lynn
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Hello, I am in need of some assistance. I was gifted a frame that looks very old, and appears to be layered with gold leaf. Can I email you some photos, so you can take a look and perhaps tell me what type of frame this is? I would be most appreciative. I don’t see a contact email address on this blog. If you can help me out, that would be great!
Thanks,
Angela
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I’m so sorry – I can’t really give opinions. Your best course would be to take the frame to your local museum. I hope that they’ll be able to help you –
With best wishes,
Lynn
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Excellent blog.
I drew up a master’s thesis on frames in Portugal during the XVI-XVIII centuries. Here, in Portugal, the subject begins (finally) to be of interest to many people.
Congratulations!
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Thank you – that is very kind of you, and much appreciated!
I shall email you, if OK?
With best wishes – Lynn
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Dear Lynn. This is a very belated ‘thank you’ and ‘well done’ for your valuable Frame Blog which I try to follow.
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Dear Betty –
How lovely to hear from you, and thank you for such a very nice comment. I shall reply at greater length by email –
V. best wishes,
Lynn
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Thank you for making this fascinating website/magazine!
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Dear David – Thank you for such a kind comment; I do appreciate your taking the time to respond, and I hope that you continue to enjoy the articles –
With best wishes,
Lynn
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Excellent work. Thank you so much.
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How kind of you to say so- thank you!
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Hi Lynn, I have just found your Blog via Twitter and also want to add how inspiring and educational your site is. I set up a company called frames from the attic in June of last year and albeit stil a novice, would like to think that I can grow and develop, learn and also help educate others about the beauty of old frames. I look forward to acquiring more knowledge on the subject. Jane Taylor, Founder of Frames from the Attic.co.uk
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Thank you for your comment – I’m very glad that you’ve found The Frame Blog helpful.
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I was gobsmacked to find your blog through an image on Pinterest. Almost forty years ago, a much loved prof encouraged me to pursue my Masters in Art History. He knew of my keen interest in frames from questions I’d frequently posed in various seminars we had together during my undergraduate years. He felt a thesis pursuing my interest in frames was worth examining. Sadly, my life took a different turn and I left academics though my interest in frames never wavered. I haunt consignment shops, auctions, flea markets and have sometimes bought pieces of deeply forgettable art merely for the frames. They aren’t of the calibre included in your posts, but are beautiful, nonetheless. I truly appreciate your detailed descriptions of the frames and drink up the vocabulary. Thank you for putting so much effort into this educational, beautiful blog that somehow answers questions I didn’t know I had!
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Thank you for such a kind and appreciative comment – I’m very glad that you found the blog! I also became interested in frames whilst at the Courtauld, and wrote my dissertation on those of the Pre-Raphaelites and other Victorians; then I was lucky enough to find a niche in which I could become a picture frame historian. But frames are still the poor relation of the plastic and applied arts, so I’m trying to collect together as much that’s been written on them as possible, in the hope that this may help. Please pass the blog on, if you know anyone else who might be interested…
With best wishes, Lynn
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I have only recently come across your blog and never thought information about frames could be so interesting. I am really starting from knowing nothing and look forward to using some of the knowledge when I visit a gallery
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You couldn’t have said anything nicer, Martyn – thank you! I hope that you continue to enjoy the blog, and I also hope that some of the information helps to show which paintings in museums work well with what sort of frame, and why some frames are (sadly) just plain wrong…
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Dear Lynn,
thank you for your blog. I keep learning something new about art every time I read it!
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Goodness – how kind of you! Thank you for taking the time to post such a nice comment, and I hope that you continue to enjoy the blog…
Lynn
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Hi, Lynn. I’ve been following your career and contributions to picture frame history since first discovering your books with Paul Mitchell 12 years ago and then your Victorian essay in Eva Mendgen’s book. The internet makes all this info more accessible and your blog is TOPS! Thanks a million for creating it and for further enlightening us with much picture frame news. WOOHOO! Yours truly, Barrie Lynn Bryant, Picture Frame Maker, Carver, Gilder
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Thank you for such an enthusiastic and kind response, Barrie – and how nice of you to take the trouble to comment here and on separate posts. I’m glad that you like the blog, and hope that you continue to enjoy it – there’s a lot more to come!
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Dear Lynn,
It was with great interest I read your interview with Oksana Lysenko. I have an old picture frame from St Petersburg, measuring 270 cm X 198 cm, made in 1900 I think. It has a paper label at the back with all the details. The frame came to Finland in the 1920’s and the canvas was removed and probably sold. I would like to know more about this frame and thought I’d contact Oksana Lysenko for some advice, but I haven’t got her contact details. Maybe you might be able to help? Many thanks in advance! Jan
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Dear Jan –
So glad that you enjoyed the interview with Oksana. I don’t want to publish her email, so, if you could kindly follow my details on the ‘About’ page of the blog, which leads to my website, you will find my own email on the Contacts page. If you write to me in this way, I’ll be able to put you in touch with her.
Sorry to be so roundabout, but lots of people are sensitive about spam if their email addresses are published….
Lynn
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What a great website! The article ‘The miracle of Cortemaggiore’ had me in tears. What an awesome story.
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That’s the nicest thing you could have said – thank you! It was a beautifully positive story for Christmas, I thought…
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I’ve nominated you for a Versatile Blogger Award! See what you need to do to accept it here: http://sequinsandcherryblossom.com/versatile-blogger-award/
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Lynn, you are a highly original talent, and your blog is fascinating! All my best wishes as you continue!
Lucy Paquette
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Dear Lucy –
What a kind and flattering comment: thank you! I hope that you continue to enjoy the blog – and perhaps one day you’ll write about Tissot’s frames for me!
Lynn
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Dear Lynn,
I’ll work on that suggestion!
And I hope that perhaps one day you’ll read and review my Tissot novel!
Lucy
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Wow! Your blog is amazing. Thank you!
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Dear Mikel –
Thank you for such a kind comment!
Your website is also amazing, and you seem to use some interesting frames (which of course I like…the wrapped one on the portrait of an older man is striking & appropriate).
I’ve encountered your work before, as your portrait of Elizabeth Shea was included on a book I reviewed on images of women reading through the ages. The portraits of artists in their studios are particularly arresting.
I’m glad that you’ve found the blog interesting –
Lynn
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Create the frame blog – this is a great idea. Thank you Lynn Roberts!
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Thank you, Oksana! How nice of you to respond like this. I hope that you will enjoy the articles we shall be posting, and I’ll look forward to your own contribution!
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Hi, I just read your article about the framing exhibition in Moscow. I am an artist working on a series about Malevich’s Last Futurist exhibition 1.0. The series is just about the paintings as framed objects…I was wondering if you might be able to direct me somewhere to find out which of the frames are original from Malevich? Your discussion about Malevich’s spatial intentions with the frames is fascinating…I would like to know more
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