Image Gallery

• Atelier Richard Boerth Gallery & Showroom

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  Atelier Richard Boerth gallery and showroom displaying fine antique frames from the 17th to mid 20th centuries. A wide selection of styles and sizes is available for all types of art and mirror frames. The range of finishes includes gold and silver leaf, painted, ebonized, veneered and other traditional mediums.

  

• Fine Antique Frames & Frame Making Samples

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  Our gallery and showroom features antique American and European frames. We also feature hand made replica frames from any era crafted entirely in our studio. We can produce any design and finish from the historic to the fanciful.

  

• Antique Frames Replicated

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  Corner sample for a replica frame built in our studio. The original is a 19th C. frame from our collection which was influenced by Italian Renaissance designs. Following the original construction techniques and using the same materials as on the original, the wood structure was shaped and gessoed. Then the plaster and composition ornament was cast and applied. The finish is 23 karat gold leaf with burnished water gilding and matte oil gilding. It was completed by carefully rubbing the gold to expose the underlying layers and applying various pigments and toning agents to faithfully achieve the the appearance of the original.

  

• Two Late 19th C. Frames

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  Two late 19th C. American frames. The outer "Barbizon" frame was a style favored by many of the artists who painted in that region in France.. It is essentially an interpretation and modification of the earlier carved 18th C. Louis XIV frames but done in applied ornament. Characteristics include a bold design with large curling acanthus leaves in the corners. The wide flat liner in this frame is atypical for this style. The inner frame is an Aesthetic style frame which includes a mixture of ornamental styles and textures with applied composition ornament.

  

• Frames Awaiting Restoration

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  A 19th C. American frame in the Louis XV style awaiting restoration. It was made with a carved wood structure, gesso, applied composition ornament and gold leaf. Restoration will require making molds and casting composition replacements for missing ornament. Light cleaning and laying gold leaf in restored and excessively worn areas will follow. Applying patina and toning to match the existing original finish will complete the work.

  

• Pre-Raphaelite Style Frames

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  Examples of Pre-Raphaelite frames built in our studio. Named after the English school of painting in the mid 19th C., the artists were influenced by the construction, materials and appearance of Medieval and Renaissance frames. These are characterized by being hand made without excessive ornament. The frames were often gilded directly on oak which allows the wood grain to show through. These examples are sometimes referred to as "reed and roundel" frames after their predominant features.

  

• Antique Framed Mirror In Gallery

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  An Early 20th C. mirror frame made of wood with applied composition ornament in the Louis XV style. The finish is often referred to as "Roman Gilding" in which a finely ground bronze powder is used instead of gold. Selected areas can be burnished to a low luster but this finish is usually subdued.

  

• Hand Carved Frames

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  Carving a Spanish Baroque style frame in basswood. We routinely carve frames in any style many of which will be finished in gold leaf.

  

• Frame Making

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  A selection of samples of carved and gold leafed frames produced in our studio. We build many frames that are entirely unique to our studio but may have been influenced by frames from centuries past. The middle frame with the continuous design in the frieze is a cassetta profile from the Italian Renaissance. The decoration known as pastiglia is produced by using a brush to flow thickened gesso onto the surface to form the design.

  

• Antique Frame Detail

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  A detail of a late 19th C. American Rococo revival style frame with a fluted cove made of carved wood, applied composition ornament and gold leaf. Curving tendrils and leaves sweep outward from the asymmetrical corner cartouches for an effect of liveliness and movement. The original gold leaf surface has been worn over the years to expose the underlying red bole upon which the gold was laid.

  

• Orientalist Frame Detail

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  Late 19th C. American Orientalist frame made of wood, gesso, applied composition ornament and gold leaf. This frame shows the influences of middle eastern design on the period. Frames of this type were popular as many artists traveled to the Near East to paint exotic scenes or interiors often with costumed figures.

  

• Frame Making

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  Examples of the wide variety of carved gold leaf frames hand made in our studio. From left: a 17th C. Dutch profile, an early 20th C. American Arts and Crafts style and an early 19th C. American profile. Many other finishes are available from gold silver, brass and copper leaf to applied wood veneers and painted surfaces. Each is individually toned and with applied patina becomes uniquely created to harmonize with a particular piece of art.

  

• Late 19th C. Frame Detail

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  Detail of a late 19th C. American frame made of wood, applied composition ornament and gold leaf. This frame exhibits some fine cracks in the gesso surface and ornament that are characteristic of frames made with these materials as they age. These are considered to be part of the natural character and beauty of an antique surface as is the natural patina that has built up over the years.

  

• Carved Gold Leafed Antique Frame

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  Detail of a European 18th C. gold leaf, carved, pierced wood frame from our collection.

  

• Traditional Wood Working Tools

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  Antique moulding planes which produce various profiles of wood mouldings. We use a variety of wood working tools including traditional planes, chisels and saws for restoration work and to craft new frames. These classic tools impart subtle nuance to the work that is missing from machine made frames.

  

• Gilding

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  Gold leaf being transfered from the books it is packaged in onto the gilder's cushion. It will be cut into smaller pieces with the gilder's knife in the foreground and transfered to the frame with the gilder's tip (broad flat brush) seen under the gilder's right hand.

  

• Burnishing Gold leaf

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  Burnishing a carved frame that has been water gilded with an agate tipped burnisher. This technique is possible only with correctly prepared and applied layers of gesso and bole (gilder's clay mixed with rabbet skin glue). The matte gold is polished to a highly reflective luster by the pressure of the tool. Selected areas will be burnished while others are left unburnished or matte. The resulting contrast will add life and appeal to the appearance of the frame.

  

• Traditional Materials For Patina

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  Earth pigments, shellac, stain and gamboge ( a tree resin) along with dyes and other historical materials are used to make the patinas needed to blend restored areas into the surrounding original surfaces. They are also used to create distinctive finishes on newly made frames.

  

• Gallery & Showroom

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  A corner of our gallery, showroom displaying early 19th C. to early 20th C. American frames along with two mirror frames.