As the Fine Art and Museums Business Manager for Tru Vue® that works with conservation practitioners from around the world, Jennifer Booth understands how critical protection and presentation are in custom framing. Recently, she had three pieces of artwork framed that were from her own collection. She turned to CMM Framing in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood to handle the project.
Two of the pieces are Rajasthani miniature paintings that have been painted on what Jennifer believes are old land tax documents, recycled for the art. Booth purchased the paintings during a work trip from a custom framer in New Dehli. Although she was offered a choice of paintings on fresh paper, the archeologist in her couldn’t resist this historical nature of reusing the document. The third piece is a memento from a trip to Cuba, a painting of intertwined snakes.
These three pieces are all Jennifer’s favorites.. She was motivated to have them framed due to her recent move from the U.K. to the U.S. Chris Milhausen, owner of CMM Framing, decided very quickly he wanted a design simple enough to not overwhelm the art as the focal point and contemporary with a nod to the history behind the pieces.
For all three pieces, Chris used refined mats in shades of white complementary to the works, which are float-mounted using photo corners under an 8-ply mat. The mat widths are ample at 3 1/2 inches for the 9-by-13-inch document paintings and 2 3/4 inches for the 6-by-9-inch serpent painting. He chose Optium Museum Acrylic® as the glazing for its superior clarity and museum-level protection given the level of fine detail in the three pieces of art.
“We already use a lot of acrylic in the shop, so we know some of the challenges of working with it,” said Chris. “We find Optium Museum Acrylic easier to use because of its anti-static and scratch-resistant features, in addition to having amazing clarity.”
Chris chose a detailed yet contemporary moulding for the two Rajasthani paintings, the Roma Mouldings 3120 Galleria. This frame features a rectangular profile with gold leafing and a painted front with hand-scratched texture. “The antiquing plays off the age of the pieces,” Chris said.
For the painting of the intertwined snakes from Cuba, Chris used a Picture Woods (#317) frame in walnut with a coffee finish and a small bevel on the outside edge. The darker finish on the frame contrasts nicely with the vibrant shades of plum and pink in the artwork.
The result is elegant framing that showcases the art with maximum emphasis and clarity. They are a lovely reminder of her travels around the globe working with some of the world’s most respected museum and fine art conservators.
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