This lovely watercolor was completely lost. The whitewashed frame and sickly matte didn’t set off the picture at all…everything just floated away. (The matte likely faded in the 50 years since it was done, but that frame…well, I’m sure it was the height of fashion at one time.)
We changed the outside matte to a darker – albeit still earthy – taupe to bring out the subtle tones in the picture. We also made it a bit larger. I did feel that the delicate watercolor benefited from a double matte, so we did a narrow dark brownish green matte right next to the picture. See how it contains the art without distracting you from it?
We moved to a dark brown wooden frame that isn’t too precious – it’s a little dinged-up looking. (Deliberate dings – likely 25 bucks per.) The scene is hard to see, but it’s a winter landscape with a few people on the river. So we wanted a slightly rustic feel without being the frame equivalent of a stuffed bear head over the fireplace.
If you have a valuable piece of art, justify the framing cost by remembering that acid-free matteboard helps preserve it for future generations. If the art has personal value rather than monetary, the right framing job can make it look like a million bucks.
(Please don’t go overboard, though – the frame should be as humble as the work of art. 4 mattes and a gilded frame around your Picasso postcard isn’t going to fool anyone.)