Includes Europe and the United States, from the Middle Ages to the present.

The frames of classical art are often seen as marginal to the images that they surround. Traditional art history has tended to view framing devices as supplementary 'ornaments'. Likewise, classical archaeologists have often treated them as tools for taxonomic analysis. This book not only argues for the integral role of framing within Graeco-Roman art, but also explores the relationship between the frames of classical antiquity and those of more modern art and aesthetics. Contributors combine close formal analysis with more theoretical approaches: chapters examine framing devices across multiple media (including vase and fresco painting, relief and free-standing sculpture, mosaics, manuscripts and inscriptions), structuring analysis around the themes of 'framing pictorial space', 'framing bodies', 'framing the sacred' and 'framing texts'. The result is a new cultural history of framing - one that probes the sophisticated and playful ways in which frames could support, delimit, shape and even interrogate the images contained within.

A painting wouldn't be the same without its frame. In fact, it can be as important as the art it surrounds. Yet the picture frame is the Cinderella of the art world, beautiful, hardworking, and frequently overlooked." The Secret Lives of Frames, "inspired by the hundred-year history of Lowy, the premier fine arts services atelier in the country, celebrates the extraordinary art and artistry of the frame. In chapters such as The Making of a Framer and a Frame, The Lure of Antique Frames, and New Designs for the New Millennium, magnificent edges of all kinds come to life in vivid detail. Their history, so colorful and varied, is interwoven with the history of Lowy, an old-world company started by the legendary New York framer Julius Lowy, that marries the finest of traditional craftsmanship with new and inventive framing, restoration, and conservation techniques. Fascinating stories about frames, a lively historical survey of their evolution, and behind-the-scenes views of Lowy will transform readers into knowledgeable insiders who understand how to make their own framing choices. "The Secret Life of Frames" includes vintage photographs illustrating Lowy's colorful history and extensive photographs of frames and framed works of art in splendid real-life settings.

This book is the culmination of over twenty years' work by Mitchell and Roberts, widely known frame historians and consultants. They have undertaken photographic surveys of frames in most major museums in Europe and North America, as well as in many historic houses and exhibitions. This analysis of frame styles and their inter-relationships over eight centuries is organised by nationality and period with fifty-six carefully constructed diagrams in the form of framemakers' pattern books, interspersed with thirty-eight plates of framed paintings. Components are drawn directly from photographs of 268 frames original or contemporary to their pictures.

Published to accompany exhibition held at the National Portrait Gallery, London, 8/11/96 - 9/2/97.

'66 Frames chronicles encounters with Timothy Leary, Allen Ginsberg and many others as - in the words of Lawrence Ferlinghetti - "the young Southern innocent sets forth in all his whiteness to find himself among visionary New York poets and other flaming creatures." Gordon Ball offers a swirl of sixties life - working as assistant to film pioneer Jonas Mekas in his Third Avenue loft; visits with Andy Warhol at his Factory; antiwar marches - in a journey through the decade that took visual imagery outside the box, beyond the frame.

The history of picture frames and a sampling of styles from 1800s to 1940s. Over 400 color photographs show wall and table-top frames. Different frame materials are described with information on identifying and dating your pieces.

A survey of the best of American art tours the hallowed halls of the Whitney Museum presenting the works of Edward Hopper, Ben Shahn, and George Bellows, with essays by John Updike, George Plimpton, Alan Dershowitz, and others.

Step-by-step color photos for all areas of matting and framing; the information is complete, accurate, and up-to-date. This book includes top-notch instructions for archival framing—the correct methods and materials for preserving photos and artwork for posterity. The author also provides inspiration and helpful examples to show people how to display their artwork using basic design principles in a manner that is easily grasped. There are important techniques to follow for success—even the basic mechanics of hanging a picture.