Gold Leaf Studios

RE-CREATING GILBERT STUART CON'T.

Gilbert Stuart portraits were framed in a variety of frame styles: From left: the frame for Thomas Coffin Amory’s portrait featured oak leaf ornamentation (1810) considered appropriate for a masculine subject; Isaac Coffin’s portrait (1810) was framed with an even denser oak leaf ornamentation; Sarah Linzee’s portrait (1807) was reframed several decades later in a Greek Revival style frame; and Mrs. Thomas Amory’s portrait featured a frame with alternating anthemion and wreath ornamentation (1806).

The tradition of frame making is best described as a blend of cabinetmaking, sculpture, and painting. Frames showing mastery of all three skills satisfy the demands of a sophisticated collector. Historically, the most valuable frames have been hand-carved and gilded in the traditional European manner with genuine gold leaf, with the wood first prepared with successive coats of gesso and clay mixed with hide glues in the great tradition of the Italian Renaissance. The English swept-corner reflects this great tradition and was typical of urban mid-eighteenth century American portraits of quality. Frames at that time typically cost a little less than half the value of the portrait, depending on the artist and frame maker. They were sometimes imported from London and sometimes carved in America "in the latest style."

The final collection of the reproduced frames and Presidential portraits faithfully replicated the historically important works of Gilbert Stuart.

Despite the cost of frames and their importance to their original owners, historic frames are often overlooked in the assessment of paintings and seldom regarded as fashionable ornaments unto themselves. Fortunately, recent trends have revived interest in this nearly lost art form, a welcome development considering how many frames were destroyed when separated from their original paintings.

By 1776, the prevailing frame styles were modeled on Louis XVI French frames, which had English and Italian origins. Frames in this style, called Carlo Maratta after the Italian Baroque painter, had moldings with minimal detail: one or two lines of hand-carved pearls, “calves’ tongues,” or twisted ribbon. These simple, elegant frames remained popular for oil paintings, engravings, and watercolors well into the nineteenth century, especially for trained European artists.

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