- May 1, 2024
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Small cracks may be visible along its surface of wood and gold leaf, but it's still the world’s most expensive period frame at a value of $1.4 million, according to Austin Helmuth of Helmuth Stone Gallery.
“That’s a good thing,” he said of the condition of the frame. “If something’s older, that usually makes it better in this business.”
It may seem extraordinary that the rare antique designed by architect Stanford White happens to be tucked away in a small art gallery along Main Street in Sarasota, but when it's auctioned off on Jan. 28, it may draw bids from as far away as New York City and Europe.
Those are the places from which people have signed up to participate in the auction of the approximately 550 frames the gallery holds on behalf of Eli Wilner & Co. in New York City.
According to Helmuth, the collection is among the most important and includes some of the most expensive frames in the world.
After Helmuth and his business partner, Brandon Stone, expanded the gallery into the frame business about two years ago, the path led further than they could have imagined.
There is a significant market for frames that exists independently from the market for paintings, explained Helmuth.
“Some collectors will just hang a frame as it is, without a piece of art, and so the frame itself is a work of art, especially the ones that (Wilner) has collected over the years; they're really pieces of art, just in their own right,” Helmuth said.
Some interior designers will buy 15 to 20 frames for an entire house, simply to set mirrors, or other frames, inside of them.
Helmuth and Stone partnered with Eli Wilner & Co. in New York City to offer the entire contents of their gallery.
Helmuth said Wilner is one of the foremost experts on framing in the world, especially in the U.S. Over the last 40 years or so, he amassed a collection of frames dating from the 16th century all the way to the mid-20th century.
Wilner has created 28 replicas for the White House, as well as one for Emanuel Leutze's "Washington Crossing the Delaware 1851" in the Metropolitan Museum of the Arts.
Until recently, though, he had rarely sold the contents of his collection, mainly using them as a basis from which to create replicas for paintings whose original frames had been lost.
With Wilner moving away from the collection to focus on replicas, the contents of the gallery were transported to Helmuth Stone Gallery in Sarasota.
The initial set of frames, which arrived two years ago and sold over the span of three auctions, required four to five semi-trailer trucks to transport them, while the current set arrived three weeks ago in a semi-trailer truck and a Sprinter van.
“We're thrilled to have it just because there's a collection, a whole array of different ones that are the finest period examples,” Helmuth said.
The $1.4 million frame is notable for the identity of its artist, as well as its composition.
Made between about 1900 and 1910, it was created by Stanford White, who designed the Washington Square Arch in New York. Although primarily an architect, White designed frames recreationally.
Like many frames in the collection, its surface is made from gold leaf applied with a horsehair brush.
It can be difficult to find an American frame from the 1910s to 1940s with this gold coating, said Helmuth. Many of these frames did not survive Great Depression — some were burned and the gold was melted down to be sold.
The wood of the frame, which measures 79 by 51 inches, is hand-carved and hand-detailed, with a design that leads toward a raised area at the center of the frame, then lower down again, toward the picture.
It is not known what painting the frame would have been used for. White was a friend of many important artists, such as Thomas Dewing and William Merritt Chase.
“It's just a very well-done frame, it's probably the best example of its time. I don't think you'll ever see another one of this size, that's for sure,” Helmuth said.
As the frames are auctioned off, limited seating will be offered at the gallery for 15 to 20 people, with most bidding conducted online or via telephone. Some bidders are flying to Sarasota from New York City, while others from Europe are signed up, Helmuth said.
“We've set a bunch of records for selling these frames, even ones that weren't that special, just because of where it comes from and the collection that it comes from,” he said.
