“The name 24 FPS refers to cinema” – Kommersant FM

Kommersant FM columnist Dmitry Butkevich tells which companies professionally create frames for works of art.

I continue to talk about the best of the best in the art world. This time the best framers, picture frame manufacturers.

It is believed that frame makers can be wonderful artists in their own right. Moreover, frames are not only an important part of the aesthetic effect of the work. Their glass panels and cladding play a key role in protecting the artwork from the environment. There are even restorers dedicated exclusively to the preservation of historical frames.

So, the company is 24 FPS – the name refers to cinema, to the speed of film scrolling. The Dallas-based firm has operated since 1990 in prestigious locations including the Dallas Museum of Art, the Fort Worth Museum of Contemporary Art and the Meadows Museum. The next structure is called Bark: in operation since 1969, it is employee-owned, serving artists, galleries, collectors and large institutions, producing frames for works of art from impressionists to contemporary artists, as well as textiles and Asian antiques.

Lowy. Before Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi was sold at Christie’s for $450.3 million in 2017, the painting needed a new frame. The job went to none other than Lowy, a New York store founded in 1907. Lowy’s other notable works include two for MoMA: Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night and Paul Cézanne’s Bather, their frames.

I will list a few more companies: Minagawa Art Lines, Professional Fine Art Services, PSG Framing, Robinson and Reeves and, finally, Small Works. The latter firm works with giants such as Larry Gagosian and Jessica Silverman, as well as institutions such as BAMPFA, SFMOMA and the Whitney Museum. Also listed among the most successful “framers” are five more New York structures, including, for example, Baobab Frame & Art Services and three Dallas ones. For some reason, there are a lot of framers in this city.