Framing of an Original Duane Raver Painting

This blog post is as much about the art and specific framing, but equally as much about sharing how we engage with customers, research, communicate (even remotely), and the attention to detail of the framing.

Recently I sold a painting on eBay which was a consignment for one of my customers. This painting was a wildlife original painting (acrylic I think) of a Bass by Duane Raver (b1927-d2022). Duane Raver was a well known artist especially in North Carolina, but certainly not limited here. You can read more on Duane here on Wikipedia.

Anyway, the buyer was local(ish) living in Nashville, NC and had another Raver painting, wanting me to frame this new acquisition in a similar style - although not mandatory that it be an exact match. To start the engagement, he sent me several pictures of the other artwork, a dog hunting painting with various levels of detail.

Notice the popsicle sticks (or tonge depressors) to fill the gap of the Z-clips which were too big. Well come back to this later in the blog.

The frame he presented was a stacked frame with a wooden outer reverse moulding with a metallic stain. On the inside was a linen-wrapped liner with a gold inner lip. The inner liner was not a problem as an luck would have it, I had 2 sticks available that were a near exact match. The challenge was finding a match to the outer moulding.

After several days of on-and-off research, no luck finding anything even close in a metallic finish, but I came across a nice wooden reverse moulding that, while not metallic, was a nice complement. We agreed to move forward with this and I communicated the details of pricing and option to have it shipped (at no additional cost).

Next was to cut and join the inner and outer mouldings. This step being somewhat routine and nothing really of great interest.

The key next step is to secure the inner moulding into the outer moulding. Not a tremendously complex step and many framers might simply use a staple gun or use the Z-clips with some sort of spacer as you saw above. Since I had the same issue of a gap between the 1/8" Z-clip and the inner moulding, I decided to address this by hand chiseling out a shallow inset to place the clip into on the outer moulding. This both allowed it to be a clean secure attachment but also should a future framer need to disassemble and separate the inner and outer mouldings, this could be done with no damage to any visible area of either moulding.

Hand-chiseled inset for Z-clip to hold in the inner moulding.

The next step is to put in the panel painting and secure it. Putting a painting directly in is acceptable, but over time any minimal movement or just time can damage or discolor the outer 1/4" of the art. To address this, I usually use Lineco Volera Rabbet Foam. This is an acid-free foam which provides a soft cushion between the frame and the artwork and minimize movement - I also use this when framing mounted studio photography as well and for almost all canvas artwork / digital media prints where a rabbet will cover the artwork edge. The foam has a self-adhesive backing that secures it to the inside rabbet facing.

Next is the common step of inserting the painted panel into the opening and securing it with framer's points.

At this point, the main framing is done and remaining steps are to finish the back with an acid-free dust cover, bumpers, and wire hanging hardware. I also added an envelope attached to the back to keep related provenance.

All done. Pack and ship and call it complete. While this painting was of not insignificant value, the fact is, even if the painting has no value, maybe a canvas print bought over the internet or found in a thrift store....the process is the same, the attention to quality, client satisfaction, and detail to ensure the framed work is preserved and presents to the highest level.

And if you don't agree...well...I guarantee it....for life (my life).