The Gilded Edge: The Art of the Frame [Hardcover]

Eli Wilner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2000

Nothing enhances the appeal of a beautiful painting like the perfect frame. Indeed, framing is an art form in its own right, and The Gilded Edge is the first book to offer a comprehensive visual survey of the beautiful antique frames made in America over the last two centuries. Comprising diverse essays by art world luminaries, museum curators, private collectors, and independent scholars, this richly illustrated volume covers topics ranging from frame history and fabrication to the art of perfectly matching frame to artwork. Unlike most art books that depict paintings without their frames, The Gilded Edge presents a plethora of photographs that showcase frames in relation to the paintings they border—and as works of art themselves. An accessible reference for collectors and admirers alike, this is an invaluable guide to the art of making beautiful things even more so.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

It's a frame-up! New York frame dealer and restorer Wilner has compiled an elegant and substantial book of words and images about the history and aesthetics of the rectangular things that go around paintings, with a tight focus on American art. Though often neglected by professional critics, frames have played many roles in shaping the look and feel of paintings, restricting or opening up the visual and cultural fields in which paintings appear. Painters like James McNeill Whistler put care and attention to making their frames themselves; designers and craftspeople from other media, like the architect Stanford White, also created significant picture frames. After a quick introduction by Wilner himself, 10 essaysAby curators, academic art historians and practicing framersAintroduce readers to picture frames' past and their present; 175 plates (many in color) show, sometimes just frames, sometimes paintings in frames, and make the book a pleasure to leaf through. Framer Suzanne Smeaton discusses the frames designed by painters, furnishing many beautiful full-page examples: Florine Stettheimer's white-and-gold, carved-and-gilded setting for her Beauty Contest simulates curtains at a fancy theater, while Georgia O'Keeffe's scalloped metal frame for her Ram's Head sheathes the painting's loud browns in a quieter black. Princeton art historian Sally Mills's essay "From Parlors to Pueblos" shows, with examples from Remington, Church and others, how "the diversity of western frames parallels the diversity found in western paintings." Metropolitan Museum of Art associate curator Carrie Rebora Barratt shows how the Met has kept track of its frames, corrected framing mistakes and gleaned information about painters' own choices, with particular attention to 19th-century realist painter Thomas Eakins. Appendixes include a glossary of frame types, terms and ornamentation. American frames became collectible in their own right, and a subject of special art historical attention, only about 20 years ago: this hefty and attractive volume shows how far the study of frames has already come. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This beautifully produced and richly illustrated volume provides a useful and highly interesting survey of frames in America for more than 200 years. Wilner, whose company specializes in antique American frames, has compiled ten chapters written by scholars, museum curators, and collectors, among others. Various chapters cover frames designed by artists, frames designed by Stanford White, and frames of the American West between 1855 and 1925. Nancy Rivard Shaw presents a fascinating discussion of frames that have been separated from their original "occupants," were never meant for the paintings that presently occupy them, or were reunited with the original paintings. Carrie Rebora Barratt's chapter on frames in the Metropolitan Museum of Art contains some exquisite photographs that will inspire the reader to examine frames as well as pictures on his or her next trips to a museum. An index would have been helpful, but the bibliography and glossary (covering basic framing terms, techniques, construction, and frame types) are most welcome. The ornament section and the line drawings accompanying the latter section are clear and very informative. A book for every academic and public library.DMartin Chasin, Adult Inst., Bridgeport, CT
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 204 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (September 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081182070X
• ISBN-13: 978-0811820707
• Product Dimensions: 12.3 x 10.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #341,522 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #79 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Antiques & Collectibles > Furniture

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing collection of information, September 18, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Gilded Edge: The Art of the Frame (Hardcover)

To find such wonderful essays and brilliant color images of frames in one book is a true treasure! I have read Mr. Wilner's other books (The Art of the Frame and Antique American Frames: Identification and Price Guide) and this is another step towards educating the public on the beauty and value of the period frame.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An inside view, September 18, 2000

By 

"[e-mail]" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Gilded Edge: The Art of the Frame (Hardcover)

I have been involved with antique picture frames at Eli Wilner & Company for over fourteen years and have acquired a great appreciation for these beautiful and functional objects. During these years as the interest in American art has grown, there has also been increasing awareness of its partner, the period frame. The American antique frame has now been given its rightful place in the history of art with the publishing of The Gilded Edge by Eli Wilner. Leading art historians and museum curators in the field of American art have focused their expertise on the period frame in a series of essays covering many important aspects of its history and development. I am proud to have been associated with this effort by contributing a chapter entitled, " On Verso: Some Observations on the Back of the Frame". This collection of illustrated essays, along with a comprehensive glossary make this the definitive statement on the American Period Frame.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Opened My Eyes, March 6, 2007

By 

Matthew L. Hall (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Gilded Edge: The Art of the Frame (Hardcover)

As a painter I have always loved art, but I never gave the frame much consideration due to the fact that my, as well as many of my contemporaries', paintings are unframed. Upon reading "The Gilded Edge" I realized not only the importance of the frame throughout art history, but also the importance of the frame in terms of the paintings themselves. There are lots of gorgeous photos of frames as well as their respective paintings. Also featured are detailed descriptions of the methods of construction as well as the reasoning behind the aesthetic criteria of the frames. This book has opened my eyes to the importance of frames as well as their beauty. It's a must buy for anyone interested in art.