Enfilade

Willem van de Velde the Younger, Two Dutch Vessels Close-Hauled in a Strong Breeze, 1672, oil on canvas (Philadelphia Museum of Art, John G. Johnson Collection, 1917, Cat. 591).

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Now on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Lynn Roberts includes a helpful interview at The Frame Blog with the show’s curator Tara Contractor and conservator Nicolette Absil) . . .

Framed! European Picture Frames from the Johnson Collection

Philadelphia Museum of Art, 21 December 2024 — November 2025

Curated by Tara Contractor

The installation highlights picture frames as works of art in their own right, exploring their shifting forms and functions from the altar-like frames of the Renaissance to the experimental, artist-designed frames of the late 1800s. It includes thirteen frames from the Johnson Collection, which, together, express the craftsmanship and variety of European frames through the centuries.