The framing of paintings has a long history, dating back through the thirteenth century and beyond. Picture frames and their makers trace technological, craft and industrial developments through the centuries along with shifts in design and taste.
The framing of an artwork plays a big part in how we perceive the artwork, affecting composition, space and the relationship of the work to its historical setting.
We have developed this compilation of frames and frame makers to give access to original frames in the collection and projects where we have re-established lost relationships between frame and painting.
This on-line resource has been made possible by the generous support of the Telematics Course Development Fund.
We are also indebted to Jacob Simon for allowing us to reference the rich on-line archive of historical information on frame makers provided by the National Portrait Gallery, London.