American 20th Century Stanford White Receding Composition Frame

Stanford White – Elaborate and elegant gilt composition frames were designed by the American architect Stanford White usually for artworks by his artist friends such as Abbott Thayer, Thomas Wilmer Dewing, and Augustus Saint-Gaudens. White was influenced by the Italian Renaissance and helped revive the tabernacle frame style in America in the late 19th century. He was one of the most talented frame designers of his time.

American frames were greatly influenced by English and French styles in the 18th and 19th centuries. Although frames were frequently mass produced in the 19th century and gilt ornamentation was usually cast in plaster or ‘compo’ instead of hand-carved, many beautiful designs originated from this time in America. The Hudson River School frames and the frames designed by Stanford White are exquisite examples. In the early 20th century, American frame makers of the Arts and Crafts movement returned to the art and tradition of their craft by hand-carving, gilding, and signing their frames. The firms of Carrig-Rohane and Newcomb-Macklin as well as frame makers in Taos and Bucks County created some of the most beautiful American frame designs of this movement.