before & after

This one is a family affair!

My MIL brought this in--an illustration of her rural hometown (Rye, NY) by Lauren Ford that once hung in her childhood home.

Here is the art as it came in: 

She also brought in this photograph .  In it, you can see this framed art in situ!  (My MIL is the baby in her mother's arms.)

While carefully unframing the art, I found this note from the artist tucked in the back.

Over the years, I've found lots of things in old frames--clients always joke, "Let me know if you find any money back there when you take it apart!"  But I've never found money.  It's mostly been old newspaper used as backing material, but every once in a while there is some notation from the artist or original framer that was previously unseen.  This letter in my MIL's antique frame is amazing provenance and very out of the ordinary.

So here's how we reframed it:

the completed project

A detail from the art:

I love all the scratch lines on the ice and the unusual coloring of the print.  I found a great natural silk mat with subtle striations in a color that was this print's neutral.  You can just barely see these striations in the mat detail below.

The frame is one of my favorites:  Bolshoi with handpainted detail.  This one has a pale yellow-green base.  The distress on it is completely intentional--the finish is even chipped in spots.  We chose a fillet (a thin strip of moulding lining the mat opening) that coordinates, but is a simple patina with no ornamentation.  The bottom exposure of the mat is weighted slightly --which in this case made the whole piece a perfect 16 x 20.

The photo and letter are nestled safely in a pocket on the back.

before & after

I am proud of the work I did on this, particularly in regard to the condition of the art.  It arrived in the shop a little bit ripply and quite fragile.  I was able to get it really flat in the press (sans adhesive) and use a mounting technique that would cause no stress to the paper.  And I think the style of the framing is classic and could be just as at home in a farmhouse or a penthouse or anything in between.