Picture Frames

A picture frame is a container added to a picture in order to enhance it, make it easier to display or, in some cases, to protect it. more...

Home
Cultures, Ethnicities
Decorative Collectibles
All God's Children
Andrea by Sadek
ANRI
Armani
Avon
Bing & Grondahl Coll Plates
Blue Sky Clayworks
Boyds
Bradford Exchange
Byers Choice
Cat's Meow Village
Charming Tails
Christopher Radko
Danbury Mint
David Winter
Dept 56
Dreamsicles
Duncan Royale
Enesco
Faberge
Fitz & Floyd
Flambro
Franklin Mint
Halcyon Days
Hallmark
Hamilton Collector Plates
Harbour Lights
Harmony Kingdom
HOMCO
Hummel, Goebel
Josef
Knowles Collector Plates
Lefton Figurines
Lenox
Candle Holders, Votives
Collector Plates
Decorative Bowls
Figurines
Ornaments
Other Lenox Collectibles
Picture Frames
Salt & Pepper Shakers
Trinket, Keepsake Boxes
Vases
Liberty Falls
Lilliput Lane
Limoges
Lladro
Longaberger
Madame Alexander
Margaret Furlong
Mary Engelbreit
Midwest of Cannon Falls
Norman Rockwell
Old World
Other Brands
PartyLite
Patricia Breen
Pendelfin
Polonaise
Precious Moments
Rein Poortvliet
Roman
Royal Copenhagen Coll Plates
Royal Doulton
San Francisco Music Box
Sarah's Attic
Schmid
Sebastian Miniatures
Shelia's
Slavic Treasures
Swarovski
Thomas Kinkade
Tom Clark
Unbranded
Wade Figurines
Wedgwood
Willitts
Willow Tree
Holiday, Seasonal
Religions, Spirituality

Construction

Picture frames are usually made of soft or hard wood, although other materials are also used, including aluminum or polystyrene. A picture frame may be of any colour or texture, but gilding is common, especially on older frames. Some picture frames have elaborate mouldings on them, which may relate to the subject matter of the picture.

The picture frame may contain a pane of glass, in order to protect the picture. Glass may be treated with various coatings, the most common being UV filters. The most expensive glass, Museum glass, has a coating which makes the glass non reflective and practically invisible.

Some pictures need to be held slightly away from the glass, notably pictures in charcoal, pastel or other media with a tendency to smudging: the frame helps to achieve this by containing a fillet, which comes between the frame and glass and the picture.

Styles

"L"-style frames are a simple variety that are constructed with a single L-shaped border of wood, with the bottom part of the L, or rabbet, at the front of the frame to hold in the glass, object and backing, which are secured in from the back. In this type a frame, a framing mat should be used to distance the object/picture from the glass, because condensation quickly accumulates inside any frame and causes damage to the picture.

Shadowbox frames have an additional channel cut into them, which the glass is inserted into. This allows the picture to be framed without a mat and still have protection from condensation.

Other styles are clip frames, box frames and shadow boxes, among many others. A digital photo frame is an example of the improving technology of the 21st century.

Read more at Wikipedia.org