Framing the modern: Twentieth-century picture frames in Melbourne and beyond

Picture frames reflect developments in technology, the art and design trends of the day, and societal changes more broadly. Compared to earlier frames, frames from the 1930s to the 1980s tend to be of simpler construction and less embellished: frames of the early twentieth century continued to echo nineteenth-century frame styles, but as the century progressed, many frames reflected modern and postmodern design and character. Due to the relative simplicity and familiarity of twentieth-century frames, we may become blasé about the value of frames from this period. However, many are significant to the works they house, especially if they are original or early frames chosen by the artist, owner or art dealer. Similarly, frames applied later in the life of an artwork can also often have historical and cultural significance.

What shaped twentieth-century frames?

With the evolution of artistic practice in the twentieth century, many artists and collectors looked to new ways to present their works, rejecting the fussiness of the previous century’s Victorian-style frames. World events such as the Great Depression and the two world wars resulted in a scarcity of art and framing materials for many years, which often led to ingenious solutions, including recycling timber or old frames. Additionally, technological developments during this period led to new materials and manufacturing processes, such as synthetic adhesives, lacquers and paints, that were adopted by artists and the framing industry.

Government restrictions on imported goods following the world wars led to the establishment of local frame-moulding manufacturing companies. These firms produced mouldings, lengths of shaped timber with a variety of finishes that would be cut to size and made into frames. In Melbourne these included the businesses Kosnar, Cartro, G & H Partos and Triart, which supplied mouldings to local framers and artists. By the mid 1980s many of the war-related trade restrictions were removed, leading to an increase in the quantity of mouldings imported from overseas and, ultimately, fewer companies producing frames locally.

Features of frames from the 1930s–80s

Twentieth-century frames are as diverse as the artworks within them, but it is possible to identify several major themes. While these frames were often simpler and more streamlined than the more embellished frames of the nineteenth-century, retro styles recalling earlier periods continued to be produced.

From the 1930s, many frames were similar in shape or profile to traditional nineteenth-century frames, but with less – or often no – moulded ornament. Rather than the bright gilding associated with earlier frames, many early to mid-twentieth-century frames were so called ‘bronzed’, with the application of a darker metallic finishes based on brass powders, or the gilding dulled by rubbing back or applying coatings. In addition, frames were often painted white or other colours, while frames featuring natural or stained timber were also popular. Frames from this period also included innovative stepped frames, consisting of a series of narrower mouldings stacked together to create a wider frame.

Frame manufacturing and finishing included the use of newly developed synthetic paints, lacquers and adhesives. Traditional materials were also used in new ways. This included creating textured surfaces by the stippled application of gesso, the traditional ground layer for painting and gilding. Also, there was a trend for the inner part of a frame (also known as the slip) to be covered with canvas or linen, a common painting substrate, rather than having a traditional gilded surface. This feature is seen overseas as early as the 1920s on original frames for modern paintings and was popular through to the 1980s.

Due to necessity, as well as aesthetics, a growing number of artists made their own frames, or recycled older frames through rubbing back and painting over the surfaces. Melbourne-based artists Fred Williams and John Brack were among those known to have made their own frames, especially in the earlier stages of their careers. Williams designed and made the hand-painted frame, with black bean timber detail to the inner edge, on Echuca landscape, 1962.¹Lyn Williams, interview with Kirsty Grant and MaryJo Lelyveld, 16 March 2010. Several other of Williams’s paintings retain the frames from their first exhibition at the Australian Galleries in Melbourne, including The Nattai River, 1958, made by Martin Smith.²ibid. Nattai River is depicted with other works in a photograph of Williams’s 1958 exhibition at the Australian Galleries.
Lyn Williams, email to Kirsty Grant, 17 March 2010. Stuart Purves of Australian Galleries said the 1958 frames were made by Martin Smith. Later, Williams often selected commercial mouldings with patinated metallic finishes to make his frames.³As evidenced by original frames on works by Williams in the NGV and other collections.

Minimalist framing such as ‘strip framing’, where narrow batons of timber are nailed to the sides of the painting became very popular from the 1950s. Later, metal strip or L-shaped frames, often in aluminium, were also used. In this later period, many artists did away with frames altogether. The deliberate non-framing or minimal framing of an artwork is also important to preserve, as it represents the artists’ intention. Such works often require travel frames to protect them during transit and storage.

In the later twentieth century, brighter gilded surfaces were also popular, including those produced with silver-coloured aluminium foil. New manufacturing technologies included hot stamped foil, which uses heat and pressure to apply metallic and other finishes to mass-produced frame mouldings made of timber and wood fibre products.

Preserving modern frames

Careful consideration is recommended before taking the step of reframing any artwork, including those from the twentieth century. Could the existing frame be original to the artwork, one chosen by the artist, or even created or finished by the artist? Does the frame relate to the early exhibition of the artwork or is it in some other way significant to the history of the picture? Close examination of the back of the frame can reveal inscriptions or labels that may indicate the frame maker or the exhibition history.⁴See Holly McGowan-Jackson, ‘What do frame maker labels reveal?’, NGV, 27 July 2021, https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/essay/what-do-frame-maker-labels-reveal/ If the decision is made to reframe an artwork, and there is a possibility that the frame has significance, we would recommend the frame be carefully labelled and stored for future reference or use.

Photographs of artists’ studios and exhibitions may provide information on an artist’s framing preferences. When the NGV acquired James Gleeson’s Facades, 1939–40, it had a bright gold outer frame and painted inner frame. An inscription on the back of the inner frame, believed to be from the artist to his sister Belle, indicates that this part relates to the early presentation of the painting, although it has been repainted. The later outer frame was replaced by NGV staff with a reproduction based on the frame for another of Gleeson’s paintings, The agony in the garden, 1948, depicted in a photograph from the year the artwork was created.

At the NGV, conservation treatments on modern frames follow the same ethical standards as other frames and decorative arts in the Gallery’s Collection. This includes examination and testing prior to treatment, retaining original material, and the careful choice and application of adhesives and inpainting media to avoid damage to the original surfaces or structure of the frame, now or in future years. Common treatments include stabilising the area around a loss or section of flaking by introducing a small quantity of adhesive to the area, followed by inpainting the loss with an appropriate paint to reduce its visibility. More complex treatments include replacing missing parts. In the case of frames with modern finishes produced using foils and production-line painting techniques, the re-creation of missing areas can be more challenging than a traditionally gilded frame surface.⁶For further frame treatment case studies see ‘Explore framing – Conservation’, NGV,https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/collection/centre-for-frame-research/explore-framing/conservation/

Frames dating from the 1930s to the 1980s are as important to preserve as frames from earlier eras. A frame may have been chosen, made or finished by the artist. In other cases, a frame may provide historical and cultural context for an artwork, reflecting the period in which it was produced and first displayed. A frame added later to an artwork may also be significant as part of the picture’s presentation history. Indeed, twentieth century frames will soon become the new antiques!

Notes