Black picture frame with a rounded outer edge, 79 mm

A black picture frame with a rounded outer edge, made to measure for paintings on canvas and panel. The moulding is 79 mm wide and 67 mm thick, and its highest point is the large roll along the outside. The whole section is black: painted by hand over gesso, lightly patinated and sealed with shellac and wax to a satin sheen, with the brush marks left visible.

The moulding profile

At the painting the moulding opens with a low step crowned by a half-round bead. Behind it the profile drops into an inner hollow, the lowest point of the face, and climbs back up in steps. From there an ogee rises: a convex curve turns into a concave one that grows steeper until it reaches a narrow flat. Beyond the flat stands a large roll, the highest point of the frame, which overhangs the side. Beneath the roll the side is cut back in a deep concave undercut that runs down through a quarter-round into a foot; the foot projects beyond the line of the roll and drops vertically to the back plane.

Specification

• Style: classical moulded section rising to a large roll at the outer edge
• Finish: black, hand-painted over gesso, light hand patina, satin sheen, sealed with shellac and wax
• Moulding width: 79 mm
• Moulding thickness (face to back): 67 mm
• Rebate: 7 mm wide, 20 mm deep (supports up to 2 cm); deeper to order
• Material: low-tannin timber of the kind used in museum work and art conservation
• Corner construction: mitred corners reinforced with wooden splines, jointed before grounding
• Options on request: another colour from my paint range, or gold leaf on selected parts of the profile
• Artwork retention: sprung clips as standard, brass plates with screws on request
• Hanging: picture wire as standard, orientation from the order menu, single D-ring on request
• Glazing, backing and mount: available as add-ons, quote on request
• Suited to: oil and acrylic paintings on stretched canvas or panel
• Lead time: 20–30 working days

The frame is made to the exact dimensions of your artwork, so enter the dimensions of the work itself in the calculator. I build in 2–3 mm of technical clearance, and the moulding overlaps the edge of the artwork by roughly 4–5 mm.

Which paintings and interiors it suits

The frame is meant for painting on a rigid support: oils and acrylics on a stretcher, or works on panel, up to 2 cm thick. A section with this much body suits a portrait, a landscape or a still life with a strong tonal range, or a contemporary canvas that wants a firm edge. Black adds no colour of its own, and the roll at the outer edge draws a clean line between the painting and the wall. More on how I approach this work is on the page about framing oil paintings.

In a classical interior the moulded section sits comfortably alongside period furniture and panelling; in a plain modern room the same frame works as a strong graphic outline. It belongs with the other black picture frames I make to measure. If you would rather have a lower, flatter black section with a broad frieze, see the black picture frame for oil paintings, 52 mm wide.

How it is made and finished

The corners are cut at 45 degrees and reinforced with wooden splines before any gesso goes on, so the frame is one rigid piece from the first coat and the finish runs unbroken across the joints.

The frame is then grounded in several coats of gesso, each rubbed down by hand until the bead, the ogee, the roll and the foot are crisp. I paint the black by hand in successive coats, leaving the brush marks in the surface on purpose, and work a light patina over it so the black does not read as a flat coat. Shellac and wax seal the finish to a satin sheen.

Another colour or gold leaf

On request I paint the frame in another colour from a curated, richly pigmented paint range, or gild selected parts of the profile in gold leaf: 23-karat yellow gold, 22-karat moon gold, or 12-karat or 6-karat white gold. Send me a photograph of the painting and I will suggest what suits it.

How it differs from a mass-produced frame

A factory-made black frame starts as a long length of moulding, foil-wrapped or sprayed on a production line and cut into stock sizes, so each corner shows a cut edge. Here the order is reversed: I cut and join the frame for one painting, and only then ground, paint and finish it, so the black runs continuously round the corners. Real paint over a gesso ground can also be waxed again or retouched years later.

What the frame will hold

The frame is supplied without glazing, as a setting for a painting on a rigid support. The 20 mm rebate takes a stretcher or panel up to 2 cm, about ¾ inch, thick; sprung clips hold it from the back. A deeper rebate can be made to order; if your stretcher is thicker, measure it and send me the figure before ordering.

The same section can also be made without a rebate, as a floating frame: the canvas sits inside the frame with a shadow gap around it and the edges of the stretcher left in view. I describe that construction in my guide to the floating picture frame for canvas art.

Complete framing – additional options

Every frame I make can be completed with full archival and museum-quality framing: anti-reflective UV-filtering glass (four classes to choose from), acid-free museum mat board, spacers wrapped in acid-free paper and a Dibond backing. This kind of mounting protects the work from light, acids and distortion. I set out the full glass and material specification on a separate page: archival and museum framing for paintings and photographs. All components are available at extra cost, as an individual quote on request.

Mounting and hanging

Sprung clips are fitted as standard. They turn aside to let the work in and back to hold it, and they cope with anything from a thin board to a stretched canvas. Brass plates with screws are available on request and are supplied loose, for permanent fixing once the work is in place. Hanging orientation, vertical or horizontal, is chosen from the order menu. Picture wire is fitted as standard, and a single D-ring hanger can be fitted instead if you ask for it.

Ordering made to measure

Measure the artwork to within a millimetre, enter both figures in the calculator and add the frame to the basket. Tell me the type and thickness of the support, stretched canvas or rigid panel, and send a photograph if you can: it helps me choose how to secure the work.

The base price shown is the price per running metre of moulding. The perimeter of the artwork is not the whole length a frame consumes: mitres cut at 45 degrees take extra length at every corner, and the wider the moulding, the more they take. The calculator accounts for the full consumption of moulding including the corners, together with the options you select.

The calculator accepts artwork up to a perimeter of 180 cm, the limit set for a moulding of this width; larger formats I make to individual order, so please write to me first. Every frame leaves the workshop in 20–30 working days.