Exeter Fine Arts

Archive for the ‘Picture Framing’ Category

  This is Leo Desroches, owner of the Framery and Gallery at Decor Antiques. Hello!
  Decor is a very diversified art gallery with a hand in many corners of the art business, including custom picture framing, frame and art restoration, and sales of antique frames and art. Our newest endeavor is writing in this space about what we do, in the hope of demystifying the processes involved in our daily work for those who find it confounding, intriguing or both.
  The experience of having an item custom-framed for the first time and on a budget can seem an alien one. To address this experience, I’ll start my discussion with topics related to custom picture framing, the practice of protecting and enhancing artworks. In time, I’ll speak to all of the following:

1. Custom Framing
2. Antique Frames
3. Contemporary Frames
4. Basic Matting
5. Matting With Cloth and Other Fabrics
6. Mounting artwork
7. Glass Types and Uses
8. Sealing and Protecting the Artwork
9. Hanging Possibilities
10. Pricing

  I strongly encourage reader feedback, and I look forward to answering your questions if I can.

  We realized our maps weren’t selling because we hadn’t put them up for sale. Womp womp.
  So while we’re thinking of it, here are some great antique maps of Exeter, of New Hampshire and of the United States, expertly framed by yours truly. — Decor

    On the eve of the 200-year-mark since Abe Lincoln’s birth (February 12, 1810), it seems fitting to highlight Lincoln-related items from our stock of historical prints and literature.
    Mr. Lincoln came to Exeter, NH (our fair city) in 1860 to visit his son Robert Todd, a student at Phillips Exeter Academy. During that visit the then-Presidential candidate made a memorable, extemporaneous speech at the Exeter Town Hall. (To note, he followed that speech with similar, commissioned ones in Dover and Portsmouth, but wisely spoke to Exonians free of charge, and secured the Presidency later that year). All of this and more is chronicled in 1929’s rare Abraham Lincoln in New Hampshire, for sale (among others) here. We’re still combing our wares for Lincoln stuff, so check back with us for updates.
    And bookmark us!
www.ExeterFineArt.com (our art framing site)
www.DecorAntiques.com (our everything else site)

    Until about 40 years ago, little thought was given to material longevity in the framing business. Finally, we in the framing industry realized that many of our framing materials (mats, backing, et al) were harming the art we meant to preserve. We hocked our untreated, acid-riddled mat board and began using new acid-free mats of varied grades. We tacked in basic foam board (and later, acid-free foam board) in the stead of good, old, cheap and trusty cardboard backer. The glass we used improved dramatically for clarity and protection from UV rays, fly balls and the other elements. We sealed the wood for our frames, thus preventing acid leakage from within.
    Of course, all these advances in art preservation that we enjoy today are the result of constant tweaking; a framing job you took home ten or even five years ago might show signs of simply having been outmoded by today’s standards in framing. As in the medical field, if you want the best for your art, you’ll want the most knowledgable staff, the best tools and the sincerest care. This commitment to the health and preservation of our customers’ cherished art is what brings our customers back again and again.    – Décor