NEW YORK, NY.- Eli Wilner & Company has been invited to present a lecture at The General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen on Tuesday, October 28, as part of the fourth season of the Society’s Artisan Lecture Series. Each lecture features an internationally known artisan, who speaks about the intricacies of their specialized crafts.

Eli Wilner & Company will describe the historic re-creation of the lost original frame for Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze, in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. This fascinating story begins with the chance discovery by a researcher of photographs taken by Matthew Brady in 1864, showing the painting in a large, elaborate frame as it had appeared in the Metropolitan Fair in Aid of the United Sates Sanitary Commission, a benefit for Union soldiers. By the time the painting was donated to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1897, the original frame had been lost. Curators and generous benefactors immediately agreed that the painting would be returned to its original grand surround.

Eli Wilner & Company was selected to undertake the project of creating this monumental frame, with an opening size of over 12 x 21 feet, and a crest measuring twelve feet across with an eagle at the center surrounded by flags, pikes, an inscribed banner and other regalia. Using a knowledge of pattern and ornament from the mid-nineteenth century, and with the aid of digital imaging to capture details in the photographs, Wilner artisans meticulously recreated the original frame. Employing old-world methods, the craftsmen resurrected the presentation envisioned by the artist and returned the newly-restored painting to its former glory. The painting and frame are now the focal point of the American Wing at The Metropolitan Museum.

To read more about the lecture event at The General Society, including ticket information, click here

To read more about the creation of the frame for Washington Crossing the Delaware, click here