Frames

The Robert Lehman Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art houses one of the finest collections of frames in the world. The collection Robert Lehman bequeathed to the Museum includes nearly 400 frames, most of them Italian and French and dating from the 14th to the 18th century. Although he bought most of these frames to display his paintings and drawings, a number of them were acquired as works of art in their own right. Using the documentary evidence that survives, this volume attempts to place these frames on the pictures and in the interiors for which they were intended. For each frame, the author has provided a profile drawing that is a key to its design, origin, date, and application. This volume is the 13th in a series of 16 on the Robert Lehman Collection. -- Metropolitan Museum of Art website.