Victoria Shaw-Williamson, our in-house furniture expert and one of the country’s most respected appraisers of antiques, fine art and collectibles, has a knack for seeing things that the rest of us might miss. We asked Victoria to enlighten us about a group of items that may have gone under our radar. Read on to hear her thoughts on frames:
“So let’s say you recently inherited a picture from your Uncle George. You love the picture, but the frame (which is not original to the picture) makes you want to scream. Maybe it’s hideously ugly or damaged beyond repair, or perhaps you, like Camille Pissarro, just think that gilt frames are hopelessly “bourgeois.” It’s time to shop for a new picture frame.
“Collectors love to re-frame pictures in the same way that they love to redecorate. And with frames listed from $300 to $16,000 — ranging from Spanish-Colonial Style to British Modernist — 1stdibs has an antique frame for every picture and for every collector.
“After you’ve looked at all the frames on 1stdibs, you, too, may be officially hooked. Maybe it’s the exquisite quality of the carving that got you. Maybe it’s because you now can recognize the difference between the Aesthetic Movement and Rococo Revival. Or maybe it’s simply the fact that you love how the new frame has changed the entire look of the painting that you just inherited from Uncle George.”
See a few of Victoria’s favorite pieces in the above slideshow, or browse our full collection of frames.
