By coincidence I’ve encountered two lessons today in the importance of making sure that art work is well framed. This afternoon I was up in North Yorkshire delivering a picture bought by somebody I’ve known for some years. I know that she has admired this particular piece for some time, but only now has taken the plunge and bought it. She asked me to name a price, and I told her that as a friend she could have “mates’ rates”. To my astonishment, however, she insisted on giving me more than I had asked for, commenting on how well-framed it was, and how beautifully the frame set-off the image.
On the way back to Bradford I passed through the small town of Otley, where I have some of my work framed by somebody I’ve known for a very long time. I wanted to check with him about the acceptability of the flow of work I had planned for him over the next month or so, and also I wanted to collect two pieces he had just finished framing. It was very gratifying, when I got home and unwrapped the two pieces, to see how well they looked, and I really felt that they had been enhanced by their frames.
By way of contrast, he told me that somebody had called into his shop the previous week, intending to get frames for some pictures painted by a member of his family. He chose a really expensive profile manufactured in Italy, and had to be persuaded, very diplomatically, that his choice really was not a very suitable investment. He didn’t say this to his customer, but poor art can not be redeemed by good frames.
Many years ago I came to the same conclusion. Back then I used to exhibit regularly in the small North Yorkshire town of Addingham. One of the other exhibitors, who used to specialise in wildlife pictures, was quite proud of an owl she had painted. Her husband had advised her, in choosing a frame, to “throw some money at it”, which she had done. I couldn’t bring myself to tell her that she would have been better ignoring his advice as the expensive profile she had chosen only served to bring out the weakness of the image.
It certainly is important to give careful thought to the mounting and framing of work, but you do need to have a realistic idea of the suitability of your choice, which can undermine your intentions if you get it wrong just as much as it can enhance what you have done with paint if you get it right.