For nearly two decades, Randy Murphy has made beautiful, hand-carved
frames that rival the artwork and photographs they surround. As a craftsman,
he likes to experiment with shapes and deep grooves, but he tends to follow
general guidelines in creating or selecting the perfect frame. Here, he
offers his top three framing hints:
1. "Pay attention to scale," he says. "Don't put a baby's portrait
in a huge frame." Also, he adds, don't ignore type size if words appear
in artwork. Try to keep the frame in proportion with the size of the print.
2. "Italian paintings go in Italian frames, and French paintings go in French
frames," he says. Too often, people ignore a piece's country or time period of origin
when framing it. Doing so can undermine the work's historical integrity.
3. "Avoid frame shops. Go to the museums and look at the art and
the frames," he says. "You'll know so much more than any framers in town."
He explains that masterpieces deserve masterfully crafted frames, and
museums have known this for years. Murphy especially recommends New York
City's Metropolitan Museum of Art, but any well-respected local museum
will do.
In the end, Murphy cautions against following any guidelines--even
his own--too strictly. "With framing, there really aren't any rules,"
he says. "And that's the absolute truth."
