Huntsville Museum of Art

Huntsville, AL

256-535-4350 or 800-786-9095



 

The Frame in America: 1860-1960

 

"The Frame in America: 1860-1960," which will feature more than 100 American frames, will open September 10 and run through October 22, 2000, at the Huntsville Museum of Art. The exhibition, which was organized by The International Institute for Frame Study in Washington, D.C., chronicles one of the most prolific and creative periods of American frame design. The exhibition will also focus on the tools, materials, and methods used in gilding and frame manufacture. (left: (Frame on outside) Tabernacle Style Frame, circa 1900, Designed by Stanford White ,Manufactured by the Newcomb-Macklin Company, Chicago, Ill, pine, composition, and 23k gold leaf, Jean Reasoner Plunket Collection; (Frame inside) Tabernacle Tripartite Frame, circa 1880, Ex-Paul Levi Collection, pine, composition, and 23k gold leaf, Adair Collection)

"By removing the frame from its original context, this exhibition allows the viewer to appreciate the incredible diversity of design and technique of the American frame," Peter Baldaia, Museum chief curator, said. "While many examples owe much to their European precedents, others represent a departure in aesthetic conception and function, offering a distinctly American style which speaks to its unique cultural experience." (left: (Outside) Folk Art Frame in the Eastlake Style, circa 1880, pine, bronze paint, and oil paint, William Hodges Collection; (Middle) Cut Leather Frame, circa 1870, leather and pine black asphaltum varnish, Adair Collection; (Inside) Fencing Motif Character Frame, circa 1901, Designed for the Alfred S. Campbell Art Co., Elizabeth, N.J., basswood, composition, aluminum powder paint, and oil paint, Adair Collection)

Included in the exhibition are working drawings, photographs, cross-sections of frames, and many other associated items. James Abbott McNeill Whistler's reeded frames, Renaissance-inspired frames designed by Stanford White, and painted frames created by American modernists John Marin and Lee Gatch are some of the artists' frames featured.

The contributions of leading late-19th-century establishments, such as the Newcomb-Macklin Company of Chicago and the Carrig-Rohane Shop in Boston, are also highlighted.

The Frame in America: 1860-1960 is a program of ExhibitsUSA. ExhibitsUSA, a national division of Mid-America Arts Alliance, is generously supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the H&R Block Foundation, Cooper Foundation, Richard Florsheim Art Fund, Samuel H. Kress Foundation, Sprint, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the state art agencies of Arkansas, Kansas, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. Major local support has been provided by the Women's Guild of the Huntsville Museum of Art.

In conjunction with the exhibition, the Museum will present an Opening Lecture and Reception, A Historical Overview of the Frame in America, with Edna Kendall on Sunday, September 10, at 2 p.m. in the Great Hall. Kendall, who has over 25 years of experience in the framing industry, will give a slide presentation focusing on major developments in 19th and 20th century American frame design. She is currently a member of The Professional Picture Framers of America.

Read more about the Huntsville Museum of Art in Resource Library Magazine

Please click on thumbnail images bordered by a red line to see enlargements.

For further biographical information on selected artists cited above please see America's Distinguished Artists, a national registry of historic artists.


This page was originally published in Resource Library Magazine. Please see Resource Library's Overview section for more information. rev. 3/23/11

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