Three qualities are essential for good picture framing; taste, proportion

and craftsmanship in that order. In framing, it is difficult to err on the

side of simplicity.

Advantage should be taken of good tradition, but the needs of modern living

must be kept in mind. The artist and craftsman should not be swayed by

"fads" in framing such as covering a Victorian atrocity with whitewash and

calling it "smart".

The three requisites mentioned above can only be developed with time and

through experience. However, if sufficient study is given to the picture

before it is framed, errors will be reduced and better frames will result.

Before either making or finishing the frame it should be remembered that the

proportions, that is, the width and depth or "profile" of the molding is of

more importance than the finish.

It is much easier to commit the fault of "over-framing" a picture than it is

to make the frame too plain or narrow.

The following general rule should always be borne in mind: The more elaborate,

colorful or detailed the picture, the simpler should be the frame and vice versa.

A monotonous effect can be avoided easily by giv-ing the frame an interesting

textural finish or by deco-rating it with a continuous line of geometrical shapes.

These should be based on the seven primary forms so well outlined in the book

'A Method for Creative Design' by Adolfo Best-Maugard.

Applied singly or in combination, along the outside, the inside, on the face

or a raised portion of the molding, the decoration will be unobtrusive and

yet provide interest. The com-binations of carving, texture and color are

almost endless, therefore no picture need be without its individual, perfect finish.

History Of Picture Framing

THE PICTURE FRAME, as it exists today, is derived from the doorway or entrance

to temples, palaces and cathedrals. From a functional viewpoint, it might have

been more practical to place doors at the sides of these buildings, but the

importance of the door framing an impressive picture of the interior was never

overlooked.

The need to enhance a picture or bas-relief with a frame is evidenced from the

earliest times. The first decorations were necessarily crude; a raised line

sometimes being the only ornament.

The earliest examples of frame-like decorations or borders bear a great resemblance

to door frames. They were composed of two columns surmounted by a con-necting

entablature and this form persisted into the 15th century. Even the decorations

painted by the artists around the edges of pictures before the intro-duction of

movable frames were similar in form.

As a matter of fact, frames without pictures eventu-ally came into existence

because the desire to embel-lish with Moldings was so strong. Rooms in palaces

were arbitrarily paneled with Moldings and their vestigial remains are to be seen

today in the senselessly paneled walls of apartments in modern cities.