Conservation Framers

CFSIG2

What we do

Our Conservation Framers Special Interest Group, (CFSIG,) represents conservators whose work involves mounting and framing.

Materials that are framed include prints, drawings, photographs, documents, paintings, textiles and objects. The skills required to carry out our work include mounting, hinging, woodworking and gilding.

Materials that are mounted include artwork and documents on paper, board or fabric, including prints, drawings, photographs, small textiles and historic documents.

We work in both public and private practice and are conservators of paper, paintings and textiles, conservation lab technicians, conservation framers, librarians and curators. There are currently 91 members in our group.

Our main objective is to share and provide up-to-date information about our area of interest and expertise. We're also committed to maintaining the traditional skills of mounting and framing and to increase the awareness and appreciation of period frames, including frames designed or made by artists.

Our past activities

Book and Paper SIG meeting. Canberra 10-12 October 2016 with a decorated mount workshop on 13 – 15 October.
Paintings SIG symposium, National Portrait Gallery, Canberra, 26 – 28 October 2016.
Objects SIG symposium with the theme of modern materials, Melbourne Museum, Melbourne, February 2017.
Combined Conservation Framers and Gilded Objects symposium, FRAME: Concept, History and Conservation, Melbourne 2016. A symposium on the picture frame. National Gallery of Victoria International, Melbourne, VIC Australia. August 24^th through 26^th August, 2016.

Resources

Article on hinge free mounting—National Gallery of Art, Washington:

http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/conservation/matting/matting-hinging-project.html

The National Gallery of Victoria Frames and Frame Makers online database includes John Payne’s valuable research contained in Framing the Nineteenth Century, Picture Frames 1837-1935:

http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/collection/conservation/frames/

Comprehensive information on frames and an extensive bibliography compiled by Jacob Simon can be found on the National Portrait Gallery, London:

http://www.npg.org.uk/research/programmes/the-art-of-the-picture-frame.php

Many museums have a “frame” search ability on their websites. Here are a few to explore:

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search?ft=frames

The Rijksmuseum website has images of many frames and detailed information compiled by conservator Hubert Baija. Pay special attention to the Dutch frames: https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/search?v=&s=&q=lijsten&ii=4&p=4