About Frames Conservation

Frames are both functional items and decorative objects with artistic value. Due to their very nature, they are particularly subject to change through redecoration, modification or replacement. While having a protective function in respect of the painting they surround, they are themselves vulnerable to damage during handling and transport.

Alterations to front or back of a frame can result in the loss of basic information and make it difficult to ascertain its age or provenance. Close examination, supported by scientific analysis of the materials and techniques used in the frame’s construction, can help in understanding the changes that have taken place.

A fundamental aspect of frames conservation is understanding authenticity. Determining whether, or to what degree, a frame is authentic is core to understanding its relationship to the painting. Understanding changes in appearance, function and context is essential for appreciating a frame’s authenticity; this means understanding its unique qualities as an object as well as its relation to the picture and setting. When developing a chronology to understand phases of change, every frame has to be interpreted individually.

Some questions to consider:

When should a frame be considered original and/or authentic to a painting?

• When it is made, designed, selected or authorised by the painter – in these circumstances a frame is usually described as authentic; but what if the artist frames or reframes one of his paintings many years later in a different style?
• When it is chosen by the first owner or dealer – such a frame may later be considered to be in stark contrast to the intention of the artist, but it could still be a painting’s ‘original’ or first frame. How important is this as part of the work’s history?
• When it is contemporary but not original to a painting – a stylistically appropriate frame of the same age as a painting may perhaps be the next best thing to a frame known to be original. However should the integrity of frames in themselves be respected, and should important old frames be altered in size at a later date to fit other paintings?
• When it is a ‘livery’ or ‘gallery’ frame – not necessarily original to the work but it is original to an historical setting and part of the painting’s or collection’s history. Should this be overruled by notions of authenticity?
• When it is a replica – these offer full opportunity for presenting a painting as deemed appropriate, but how authentic is something newly made, once out of its original context?

For a frame to be seen as authentic it does not necessarily mean that the design was carefully considered or that it was well made. However it does nonetheless convey ideas about the time and spirit in which it was made.

When does authenticity change? Tate’s collection comprises paintings and frames from many sources, now housed in a museum setting and physical context that is very different from their original one. Picture frames, in contrast to most decorative arts objects in museums, still fulfil their original practical function, but additionally are often modified to accommodate glazing and backboards, resulting in changes to their structure and sometimes appearance. When a frame is known not to be original an historical connection between frame and painting, or group of paintings, is frequently considered significant enough to preclude reframing.

 
Replica Frames

Providing a new replica frame is only undertaken after rigorous research to establish provenance, context and appropriate alternatives. Producing accurate replicas for display raises awareness of the inevitable gap between the appearance of old frames now, and what their appearance would have been at the time they were originally made. The decorative surface of each replica is much debated: how should we balance what we consider the likely original condition of the frame when new, against an indication of age and condition commensurate with the aged state of the painting and other frames it is likely to hang beside? Should we replicate original techniques we know to be inherently unstable, or do so in the knowledge they will deteriorate in a characteristically authentic way?

The fundamental aim is to understand the authenticity of each frame and appreciate its role in the history of the painting. Tate’s frame collection provides fascinating insight into the history of its collection of art.

Frames Conservation Projects

• Authenticity in the Use of Picture Frames
• Science in the Conservation of a Picture Frame
• Making an historically and visually appropriate replica frame for
  Cruickshank's The Worship of Bacchus
• Tate replica frame for Henry Fuseli's
  Percival Delivering Belisane from the Enchantment of Urma
• Tate replica frame for William Linton's The Temples of Paestum

Frames Conservation beyond Tate

• National Portrait Gallery: The Art of the Picture Frame [external link]

Gerry Alabone, Head of Frames Conservation

February 2007