SOUTHAMPTON, NY.- Eli Wilner was the featured guest on Dan Rattiner's Podcast "Who’s Here in the Hamptons." Mr. Wilner discussed the events in his early life that led to his career as the world's premier framer, including the art collection of his great uncle, and the artistic ambitions of his youth. He eventually discovered his talent for framing, despite having once sworn that he would never enter a frame shop. Once his passion for framing was ignited, he spent hours exhaustively researching the frames used by the most important artists of the past several centuries, visiting the major collections around the US and Europe and creating a meticulous library of historic frame photographs.
Mr. Wilner recounted how, at the beginning of the Clinton Administration, he created an historically appropriate frame for Childe Hassam’s "Avenue in the Rain," as a gift to the White House. The painting was installed in the Oval Office, leading to a total of 28 framing projects for The White House, including works by John Singer Sargent, Frederic Church, Thomas Eakins, Norman Rockwell, William Merritt Chase, Albert Bierstadt, Martin Johnson Heade, and others.
He also described the history of how he came to recreate the lost frame for the most viewed painting at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, "Washington Crossing the Delaware." He explained how the chance discovery of a photograph of the long-lost and forgotten original frame inspired curator Carrie Barratt to bring the project to fruition. After thousands of hours of carving and gilding by the Wilner team, the frame was unveiled as the centerpiece of the renovated American Wing in 2012.
Mr. Rattiner is the founder of Dan's Papers, a free weekly lifestyle publication in the Hamptons, New York, which he started in 1960. His podcast began in 2020, and has featured many of the most interesting and influential people in the Hamptons. The interview with Eli Wilner is episode 123, which can be found on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or on the podcast website: https://podcasts.schnepsmedia.com/podcast/dans-papers/
Eli Wilner 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 their 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.
