The frame on The violin lesson came with the painting when it was acquired in 2012. It is one of a small group of original ‘9x5’ frames in the collection. These are frames that are believed to have been made by the artists, more or less in situ, for an exhibition in 1889 (The 9 by 5 Impression Exhibition) of small scale paintings often painted on wooden cigar box lids that were about 5inches by 9inches in format.
The frames are cut from a single piece of Sequoia sempervirens – Californian redwood – with the bevelled sight edge shaped by hand with a chisel.
This frame has been stained dark and the image off-set. A number of the frames from the 1889 exhibition have surface decoration in the form of painting. Some are given an overall bronze/gold paint finish. Some are stained black. Some off-set the image/window from centre as here. It is likely the offset in this frame is the same as for The lovers walk, rotated 180degrees.