Fine examples of period frames are on view at the Butler Institute of American Art, which is presenting a segment of the exhibition, “The Secret Lives of Frames: One Hundred Years of Art and Artistry from the Lowy Collection,” through September 23.
The exhibition, which features American frames and related European frames here, was organized as a touring exhibition in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the Julius Lowy Frame & Restoring Company, Inc in New York City, which also published a book of nearly the same title.
The book and exhibition pays homage to the ongoing legacy of Lowy, one of the oldest framing and art restoration businesses in America. Lowy opened its doors in 1907.
The Butler’s presentation includes a framed Abbott H. Thayer portrait of Mrs Richard Grant White (mother of Stanford White), circa 1888. The painting is framed in original American gilt composition frame designed by Stanford White, and originally hung in his New York City house’s drawing room. It now hangs in Open Gates, a house he designed.
Other frame standouts in the exhibition include a carved and gilt frame incorporating crossetted corners and eclectic ornamentation of Arabesque design in the Arts and Crafts style by the Foster Brothers of Boston, early Twentieth Century; and an American carved and gilt frame in the Venetian style by Charles Prendergast with ogee profile and intermittently spaced floral carvings, signed and dated 1905.
The exhibition will move to the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Va., where it will be shown from October 18 to January 6.
The museum is at 524 Wick Avenue. For information, www.butlerart.com or 330-743-1107.
