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Framework:
A New York Institution Turns 100
By MATTHIAS ANDERSON |
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| ITALIAN CARVED/GILT FRAME WITH SCROLLED LEAF CARVING; LATE 17TH CENTURY; 13 X 12 IN. |
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| ONE OF A PAIR OF FRENCH CARVED/GILT OVAL FRAMES, ENCIRCLED WITH A LEAF-AND-CATTAIL DESIGN; MID 18TH CENTURY; 23 X 18 1/4 IN. |
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| AMERICAN CARVED/GILT FRAME IN VENETIAN STYLE BY CHARLES PRENDERGAST; 1905; 25 5/8 X 15 3/4 IN. |
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Sometimes a title actually tells the whole story. The Secret Lives of Frames: One Hundred Years of Art and Artistry from the Lowy Collection is a reliable indicator of what art enthusiasts can look forward to this month. In celebration of its centenary, Manhattan’s Julius Lowy Frame & Restoring Company (“Lowy”) has gathered 100 important antique frames that have passed through its hands — or remain in its stockroom. On January 12, the firm unveils an exhibition o
f these treasures at its Upper East Side headquarters. These and additional Lowy-related artifacts can also be found in the accompanying 224-page book released this month by Filipacchi. Written by Deborah Davis, who gave us Strapless: John Singer Sargent and the Fall of Madame X (2003), this is no mere exhibition catalogue. Rather, it succeeds in telescoping the complex history of art framing through the idiosyncratic lens of a single New York firm. Peppering her colorful pages with the pithy reminiscences and tips of Lowy president Larry Shar, Davis links a series of beautifully photographed frames into a revealing journey from late medieval Italy, where frames emerged out of altarpiece panels, into early 20th-century America, when handcarving slipped out of fashion. The cavalcade of styles, ornaments, and techniques touches down in Spain, Holland, France, and England, with special emphasis on the Hudson River School and American Renaissance phases that have so captivated collectors recently. It is ironic that we often know more about the fascinating owners of antique frames than we do about their makers, who seldom marked their products, unless they were artists housing their own images. Surely most of these talents would be shocked to learn how expensive their handiworks have become! Action shots taken recently in Lowy’s studios show readers how reproduction frames are carved and gilt, and one chapter demonstrates how to determine if a frame is an antique, reproduction, or both. Case studies of Lowy’s most complex framing successes shed light on just how many experts are sometimes required to achieve what seemed impossible. Voyeurs will enjoy seeing how reframed works of art look in the homes of Lowy’s prominent (and unnamed) clients. These have included David Rockefeller, Mr. and Mrs. Randolph Hearst, Ralph Lauren, the White House, and a host of well-known curators, dealers, interior designers, architects, and artists.
When Julius Lowy established his framing and painting restoration shop in 1907, he could not possibly have imagined the full-blown fine art services company it would become under subsequent proprietors, none of them actually in his own family. By the 1960s, president Hilly Shar had accumulated more than 4,000 antique frames at minimal expense, just as such progressive curators as Stuart Feld of the Metropolitan Museum began rehousing historical paintings in frames made during the same period. Where museums led, collectors followed: Larry Shar’s homegrown indexing system allowed staff to pull frames quickly for clients’ inspection, and in the 1990s his son Brad computerized this service as Lowy ScanTM. By scanning photographs of every available frame, the Shars eliminated unnecessary handling of their fragile stock and empowered clients located anywhere to compare scans of their actual paintings rehoused in various framing options. (To make the point, numerous illustrations in the book underscore how very uncomfortable a great picture can look in the wrong frame.) Now, Larry Shar noted in a recent interview, he just seeks “what really looks good. I am trying to enhance the painting, and my role is to educate and guide clients. Fortunately, more than 95 percent of them trust our instincts on which frame is best, but of course clients have the right to do what they want.” Scholars are busy churning up new information on how past generations framed their art, and Shar enjoys staying abreast of these developments through symposia convened by Initiatives in Art & Culture and other organizations. He regrets, however, the “mania” for overtheorizing that has swept the scene recently: Although he certainly employs his knowledge of historical tastes, he relies on his own “eyes and emotions” to choose his framing strategies. Larry Shar admits that the growing taste for historically accurate frames — triggered in part by Lowy itself — has made it more expensive to replenish stock. Bonhams now stages several frame sales in London every year, with many pieces selling above their estimates, and antique dealers everywhere are clearly more attuned. Shar doesn’t mind this competition because it “raises awareness” of frames generally, and he still enjoys scouring flea markets for them because he is by nature “a scavenger and collector.
My rule in purchasing frames is that I never buy something I don’t like, because if I don’t like it, I can’t sell it.” Back at the office, Shar supervises a five-floor facility humming not only with framers, but also with painting and paper conservators accredited by the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works. Lowy recently spent three months conserving L.C.A. Couder’s oil painting of 1836, The Siege of Yorktown, 1781, which arrived not only folded, wrinkled, and torn, but also measuring 14 x 17 feet. The project necessitated extending the laboratory’s largest “hot table,” and the conservators had no choice but to walk across the canvas on a thick foam mat to remove dirt and varnish from its surface. Elsewhere at Lowy is a photography studio that can use infrared and ultraviolet light to detect underpainting invisible to the naked eye and regular cameras. Between January 12 and April 13, Lowy staff will welcome visitors to their Secret Lives of Frames exhibition, a portion of which will also be seen in Lowy’s booth at the Winter Antiques Show in the nearby Seventh Regiment Armory (January 19-28). A series of workshops and gallery talks is planned during the New York run, which will be followed by two further presentations. A segment of the checklist focusing on American frames and their European antecedents will be displayed at the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio, from June 10 through August 12, and the entire Secret Lives project will then appear at the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk,Virginia, from October 18 through January 6, 2008. Although every large city now has at least one museum-quality frame workshop, few can match Lowy’s inventory of 4,500 antique pieces. Having helped foster Americans’ unprecedented passion for fine frames, the firm remains a leader in this evermore crowded — and intriguing — sector of the art world. |
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ITALIAN CARVED/GILT WALNUT
SANSOVINO FRAME, ORNAMENTED WITH SCROLLS, VOLUTES, AND FLORAL SWAG;
17TH CENTURY; 10 1/8 X 7 5/8 IN |
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| FRENCH STAINED MAHOGANY FRAME DESIGNED BY ART NOUVEAU ARCHITECT HECTOR GUIMARD (1867-1942); EARLY 20TH CENTURY; 6 3/8 X 9 3/8 IN. |
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| GILT COMPOSITION FRAME OF RECEDING PROFILE WITH CONTINUOUS ROWS OF LEAF ORNAMENT, ACANTHUS LEAF CORNERS, AND REEDED SIGHT EDGE, DESIGNED BY STANFORD WHITE (1853-1906) AND MADE BY ALBERT MILCH, NEW YORK; EARLY 20TH CENTURY; 23 3/4 X 23 3/4 IN. |
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| CARVED/GILT AMERICAN FRAME INCORPORATING CROSSETTED CORNERS IN THE DUTCH STYLE AND ECLECTIC ORNAMENTATION OF ARABESQUE DESIGN IN THE ARTS-AND-CRAFTS STYLE BY THE BOSTON FIRM OF FOSTER BROTHERS; EARLY 20TH CENTURY; 29 1/2 X 24 1/2 IN. |
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Information: Lowy, 223 East 80th Street,New York, NY 10021; 212.861.8585; lowyonline.com
MATTHIAS ANDERSON is a contributing writer for Fine Art Connoisseur.
Copyright 2007 Fine Ar t Connoisseur. Used by Permission. |
RUXANDRA STOICESCU FILLS IN PAINT LOSSES
ON THE SURFACE OF L.C.A. COUDER’S
THE SIEGE OF YORKTOWN, 1781.
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