Frames can draw a viewer in with subtle beckoning or a visual snap to attention. They can effortlessly mirror visual elements in an image, or step into the distance, providing an extended blank space in which the image has full command.

Framing is integral to the care and display of an art collection. The perfect frame encloses and protects while showing a work to its best advantage. Framing protects the edges of a painting’s support structure, especially the turnover margins of a work on canvas. A frame’s protrusion can create a safe pocket for the surface of a painting and absorb the shock of a fall or other accidental impact.

Please review the In the Frame issue of the AXA ART Collection Management Series for more information on framing.

Above: 1870s Shadow box, American frame, circa 1870s, applied ornament and gilded with original incised wood shadow box enclosure. Photo courtsey of Eli Wilner Company.

This announcement is advisory in nature and is provided for informational purposes only. It is offered as a resource to be used by insurance advisors and insureds in maintaining an appropriate loss prevention program. No liability of any kind is assumed by AXA Art Insurance Corporation by reason of the information contained in this announcement.