The Evolution of Frames
Intelligent Design
September 7 – October 13, 2006
There has been a growing interest in frames on the part of collectors, museum curators and art historians during the past 15 years. Not only are frames intimately connected with the paintings they surround, but also their selection, design and ornamentation often reveal the artist's concept and aesthetic approach. Centuries of frames capture the imagination
in this exhibition of approximately 70 frames on loan from Gold Leaf Studios in Washington, D.C. The show charts the changing designs and splendor of gilded and decorated picture
frames from England, Italy, France, Holland, Germany, Spain, Africa, North America and South America. From Sunderland and Grinling Gibbons to Maratta and Chippendale, from
Byzantine to Renaissance, from Baroque to Rococo, from Neoclassical to Gothic Revival, from Copley and Stuart to Rivera and O'Keefe, the diversity of frame design is surveyed.
