LINKS
THE AURICULAR PROJECT
Auricular Style: Frames: A hub for research on the Auricular style in general, and frames in particular
Websites of museums, galleries and institutions with articles and information on and images of picture frames:
Falmouth Art Gallery: some artists have an entry for the frame on the painting, but this has not been systematically indexed for a search
Metropolitan Museum of Art: type ‘frame’ into the search box for a lot of picture (and some other sorts of) frames
Musée du Louvre: Go to the Atlas Database of Online Collections, and type in ‘cadres’ for 489 examples of framed works
Museo Soumaya, Mexico: scroll down for a page with an overview of frame styles
National Gallery of Victoria: This museum now has, rather splendidly, The Centre for Frame Research, with videos, online essays, and articles published in NGV Magazine
National Portrait Gallery website: The Art of the Picture Frame, containing: Directory of British picture framemakers, 1610-1950; Collection guides; Articles on artists and their frames; Framemakers; miscellaneous subjects; Research & publications
Rijksmuseum: type ‘lijsten’ into the search box to retrieve 541 examples of real and engraved frames
Sir John Soane’s Museum: the drawings collection is being put online; this includes the drawings of Robert & James Adam, with some designs for frames, decorative ornaments and mouldings
Tate: essays on projects carried out by the frame department
Victoria & Albert Museum: type’frame’ into the Collections search box for quite a lot of picture and other frames (chair frames, window frames, etc.). There is also now a dedicated ‘Frames’ page accessed via the Collections page
Yale Center for British Art: the entire collection of frames is being put on line, with descriptions, overall images & close-ups
AICCM (Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Material): website for the framing part of this body (CFSIG, or Conservation Framers’ Special Interest Group) for those actively engaged with all aspects of historic frames and reframing
‘Portraits, frames and technology‘: a post by Rebecca Milner on the website Understanding British Portraits
Commercial and private websites with relevant content:
AUSTRIA
Ulrich Hofstätter Vienna
BRITAIN
Richard Christie, Framemaker: also includes Antique Frame Sale Evesham
Paul Mitchell, Ltd. London
Perceval Designs Hitcham, Suffolk
Rollo Whateley Ltd. London
Arnold Wiggins & Sons London
EGYPT
IFCCH Foundation Egypt
FRANCE
Cadres anciens Paris
Cadres Lebrun Paris
Galerie Montanari Paris
GERMANY
Martin Dickel Hamburg
Olaf Lemke: Antike Rahmen Berlin
Conzen Düsseldorf (est.1854). Online booklet
Werner Murrer Rahmen Munich
Inscribed Frames
ITALY
Fabrizio Canto Rome
Enrico Ceci Formigine, Modena
Bruno Muratori Cornici Rome
RUSSIA
Petersburg Prints and Frames St. Petersburg
SCANDINAVIA
Frames of interest Denmark
SPAIN
Juan Manuel Perez Perez Seville
USA
William Adair: Goldleaf Studios Washington DC
All About the Frame New York
Tim Holton Frames California
Picture Frame Labels US
Diego Salazar Frames New York
Massoud & Yousef Shiraz Charlotte NC, USA & Frankfurt
Eli Wilner & Co. New York
Suzanne Smeaton New York
Gill & Lagodich New York
Blogs with relevant content:
Patrick Damiaens: Ornamental Woodcarver Belgium
Digitized books:
Hélène Verougstraete, Frames & supports in C15 & C16 Southern Netherlandish painting, 2015
Timothy Newbery, George Bisacca, Laurence Kanter, Italian Renaissance Frames, 1990
Charles Leland (1824-1903), A manual of wood-carving, 1909
Owen Jones (1809-74), The grammar of ornament, 1856
Videos to do with framing and gilding
National Gallery, London: a video on the work of the Gallery’s Framing Department.
National Gallery: videos on framing Artemisia Gentileschi’s Self-portrait as St Catherine, c.1615-17: Part 1 – choosing the frame; Part 2 – fitting and discussing the chosen frame
National Gallery: video on the framing of six of Titian’s Poesies
Guildhall Art Gallery, London: ‘The conservation of D.G. Rossetti’s La Ghirlandata and its frame‘
Fondation Custodia : the Fritz Lugt Collection, Paris: Dutch TV programme with English subtitles. Broadcast March & June 2012 by AVRO on Dutch television. It’s 20 minutes long, and there is a short piece on reframing at the end (plus an original frame near the middle).
Fondation Custodia: Secret treasures: a video in French by the institution, with a section on frames between 32 – 36 minutes into the piece.
Frame Conservation at the Soane Museum, London: This video looks at the work of Museum Conservator Jane Wilkinson conserving the frame of Soane’s original layout for the plan for a triumphal bridge across the Thames, ahead of the re-instatement of the original layout for the staircase recess in Number 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields for the first time since 1918. Published on 2 Aug 2012
Gold beating: a short (3 minutes+) British Pathé film from 1959
An introduction to the history of the frame & its conservation: a short film by the Museo Nacional del Prado; this is mainly in Spanish, but includes contributions in English by Jacob Simon of the NPG and Paul Mitchell
Making a Spanish polychrome sculpture: the Getty Museum: this video covers many of the processes (carving, gessoing, gilding and painting) used in producing a carved giltwood picture frame. Uploaded 25 February 2009
Detroit Institute of Arts: In the Frame: conserving the frame of Evangeline discovering her affianced in the hospital. The conservation department acts as the DIA’s own “CSI” team. Highly trained experts painstakingly analyze each work of art and recommend the appropriate treatment. In this episode the DIA’s frame conservator restores the original frame of Evangeline…. Uploaded on 1 Nov 2010
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco: Carving the panelling of the Salon Doré. The woodcarver Adam Thorpe describes the process of restoring this French NeoClassical interior. Gilding the Salon Doré: Natasa Morovic, conservator of frames and gilded surfaces, demonstrates water-gilding as it was used in the Salon Doré.
Versailles: Restauration des dorures du cabinet d’angle du Roi (Restoration of the gilding in the study of Louis XV and XVI). This room, full of beautiful boiseries, hadn’t had the gilding touched since 1954, and its east- and south-facing location had caused significant deterioration.
Versailles: L’atelier d’ébénisterie du château de Versailles (the craftsmen in the Versailles workshop discuss their work)
Rijksmuseum: a short tour of some of the most striking frames in the collection, from the 15th to 19th centuries.
AVROTROS.Kunst A Dutch television programme broadcasts the reproduction of an 18th century carved giltwood frame with a 3D printer.
Carving a cathedral window with Gothic stone tracery, for a cathedral in Dunedin, New Zealand
Christer Björkman: 1) Carving an oval looking-glass sconce: This NeoClassical frame with its oak leaf wreath is a replica of a Swedish 18th century model. The original piece was made by the Swedish mirror maker Niclas Meunier (1730-1797). He started his own looking-glass factory in 1754 and at 1769 he was awarded the title of Royal Looking-glass Maker. The frame is carved from pine and joined together in the traditional half -&-half style; the lower part is for the brass candleholder. The crest is carved in lime wood. Published on 16 Oct 2013. 2) Renaissance pilasters & entablature: Architectural framing of a wall-niche based on pilasters with base & capital holding a entablature with dentil and egg-&-dart ornaments. The design is the craftsman’s own but is based on classical, Renaissance elements. 3) Water-gilding a French Baroque-style frame: A replica of a French Baroque-style frame made by Stockholms Förgyllning & Bildhuggeri . It has previously been engraved and is here being water-gilded in the traditional way. After the gold leaf has been applied it is then carefully burnished, and in a further stage will be toned to its final patina.
Patrick Damiaens has his own YouTube channel with various woodcarving videos
Esteban Jimenez has a large number of videos of lessons in woodcarving, also on YouTube
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The Frame Blog 
Thank you so much for all of the work you do to bring the Frame Blog to us all.
I have interest in learning about the frames of the Mexican Modernists. But I cannot seem to find much information on them. I am lucky enough to work with some original frames of some important Mexican Modernists. I admire the deep complicated profiles and the rich finishes. But other than my own observations I am coming up short. Would you be aware of some resources that you could point me towards?
Thank you
Chris
Ps. I would love to see some articles about frames of Latin America – South, Central and/or Caribbean of any period.
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How kind of you, thank you; I am so glad if you enjoy the articles.
I would also love to publish something on Latin American frames – from my point of view, the altarpieces in particular are endlessly fascinating. I have spent some time looking at the available images, and there seems to be a great deal which might be unearthed; unfortunately I haven’t yet found anyone who could write about them for me, so I am really sorry but I can’t help you at the moment.
There are things you could do, such as see if any museums hold artists’ documents such as letters, diaries, invoices, day books, etc, which mention frames; also if any art historians who specialize in those specific artists have found references to frames but just haven’t published them. This would obviously take quite a time, but you might end up with quite a lot of information – even possibly enough for you to write your own article, and for me to publish it!
I’m so sorry, but you have found one of the many holes which I haven’t yet managed to fill…
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Thank you for bringing the story of frames to light.
I wonder if someone can help me piece together the origin of the black “Museum” frame. It has become a universal fixture for photography exhibits (with the exception that some curators use the modern form of white) without knowledge of where and who started the style.
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I’m so sorry; It really can’t help you with this – perhaps you ask The Photographers’ Gallery? https://thephotographersgallery.org.uk/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4O6Wk8ig7AIVVe3tCh3u_QDFEAAYAiAAEgKrQfD_BwE
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Dear Lynn
I love your blog…. I spend hrs reading and printing out various pics, my partner calls it frame porn!
I came to making frames very late in life and now have my own workshop in country victoria, australia.
When Michael and I travel we go to galleries and I find the frames always fascinating and take pics of the especial ones….he thinks I’m mad but my customers don’t!
this is just to say thanks, you really have enhanced my knowledge, appreciation and so my business.
regards, molly
Merry Xmas
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Dear Molly _
How kind of you to take the trouble to send such a nice comment! I’m very glad that you enjoy the blog – possibly both of them? – and it is even better if they help in any way.
Taking photos of frames is the best thing that you can do, as this has been done so rarely up until the last fifty years or so, and there is still a great deal of headway to make up. It may appear to be frame porn, but it’s all really in the service of knowledge! – the more images that are published, the better…
With best wishes,
Lynn
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sorry about that, I mean any place that would have mass reproduced antique style frames to do a large scale 19th century poster show
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I think that you should put this on Facebook or Twitter – shops use frames a lot for window-dressing, so I assume they sometimes borrow them… Also Mike Leigh used some appalling repro frames in the film Mr Turner, so he probably has a lot left over. (Appalling in the sense of Turner’s frames; they’re fine for posters, I should think).
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I’m sorry; I really don’t know of anywhere like that – perhaps contact a supplier of props to television & films?
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Do you know of any reproduction 19th framing companies? I know there are a few all hand made company, but any mass produces places that you know of? Thank you!
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I’m sorry, I’m not quite sure that I understand. Do you mean 19th century workshops which made frames in revival styles? A lot of firms were doing this in the 19th century, and they can be found on the NPG website: http://www.npg.org.uk/research/conservation/directory-of-british-framemakers.php .
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