NEW YORK, NY.- The master framers at Eli Wilner & Company have been proud to have created period-appropriate replica frames for many masterpieces by the Pre-Raphaelite artists including Frederic Leighton (1830-1896), Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912), and John William Godward (1861-1922), among many others. One of the most notable of these undertakings, was the creation of a gilded tabernacle frame for Leighton’s “Venus Disrobing for the Bath,” oil on canvas, 80 ⅛ x 35 ⅞ inches (203 x 91 cm). The replica frame, with a price of $65,000, was created for an auction at Sotheby’s New York and featured in the exhibition.

A recent article published by The Frame Blog, titled: “Olympian frames: Frederic, Lord Leighton”, gives an in-depth and comprehensive view of his use of frames and design influences. This article is an extraordinarily important contribution to the history of frame research: https://theframeblog.com/2020/12/28/olympian-frames-frederic-lord-leighton/

One of the artworks featured in this article is Leighton’s “Lachrymae”, c.1894-95, 62 x 24 ¾ ins (157.5 x 62.9 cm.), Metropolitan Museum, New York. This painting’s frame was chosen to act as the study for reframing “Venus Disrobing for the Bath” by Wilner’s team, with further consultation from the auction house’s 19th Century European Department’s specialists to determine adjustments to scale and proportion. The Eli Wilner & Company artisans worked primarily from digital images and renderings to create the frame, and used similar frames from the period within their collection as reference for the gilded surface.

Wilner’s collection of over 3,000 American and European period frames contains many original Pre-Raphaelite frames that were acquired long after they were separated from the paintings they were designed for. It is very common for paintings to be reframed by new owners, often due to a change in interior decorating trends or a frame being in poor condition. The occasional framemaker label can offer some clues to reuniting a painting with its original frame, thanks to research such as featured in the aforementioned Frame Blog article which includes a detailed list of the firms that Leighton purchased frames from. For example:

“Jacob Simon notes in the Directory of British Picture Framemakers that Leighton’s ‘Capri: Sunrise’ (1860, Christie’s, 14 June 2000, lot 13, & 31 October 2018, lot 2) and ‘A Sunny Corner’ (c.1872-75, Sudley Art Gallery) both have labels of W.A Smith.”

In Wilner’s collection is a period frame bearing a W.A. Smith label, with a sight size of 29 ¾ x 23 ½ inches, shaped and gilded, with applied floral ornaments. This pre-Raphaelite frame has an asking price of $145,000. If this frame were to be united with the original painting or paired with one of equal caliber from the period, the value of the enclosed artwork would almost certainly increase.

Eli Wilner & Company has completed over 15,000 framing projects for private collectors as well as more than 100 institutions. The Wilner gallery is held in high regard by both institutions and private collectors for our expertise, extensive inventory, and superior quality of craftsmanship. This regard and confidence is evidenced by clients such as The White House, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Detroit Institute of Arts, Yale University Art Gallery and many private individuals. In 2019, Eli Wilner & Company was honored by the Historic Charleston Foundation with the Samuel Gaillard Stoney Conservation Craftsmanship Award, for their work in historic picture frame conservation.