FAMAG 1923.2
A version of a ?Whistler? reeded frame from the 1870s, oil-gilded directly on oak and supplied by J. H. Steer of 2 Ridgmount Street, London.
About this work
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Knight, Dame Laura DBE RA RWS (1877-1970): In the Coulisse - Behind the Scenes, signed, signed and inscribed 'In the Coulisse', oil on panel, 63 x 57 cms. Presented to the Corporation of Falmouth in 1923 by Alfred A. de Pass, in memory of his sons. © The Estate of Dame Laura Knight.
More information about the frame
This type of reeded frame grew out of the early work of James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834?1903) with his friend and mentor, Albert Moore; they were influenced by the reeded ornament used by Ford Madox Brown and his pupil Rossetti. Comparable examples can be seen on Whistler?s A portrait of Miss A.M. Alexander, Tate Gallery; Study of Greek girls, Fitzwilliam Museum; At the piano (with extra reeded band on the frieze), c.1869, Taft Museum, Cincinnati; and Arrangement in Grey: Portrait of the Painter (with additional painted decoration), c.1872, Detroit Institute of Arts.
The flat, architrave frame decorated with simple linear mouldings was both easy to make and optically very effective. It was produced in quantity on wood-turning machines, sized and oil gilded, in a radically reduced operation compared with the hand-carved, gessoed and water-gilded frames of the eighteenth century; however, the use of oak veneer with its attractive, prominent grain and the visually sophisticated arrangement of reeded bands and friezes produced an aesthetically happy and ubiquitous design.
Shortly after Whistler?s death his biographer described how he was ?never content with the stock patterns of the frame-maker, but designed his own mouldings.? Ironically, some of Whistler?s designs, such as this one, became ?stock patterns? because of their popularity with artists, patrons and collectors.
John Singer Sargent (1856?1925) used a similar frame for his portrait Coventry Patmore, 1894 (NPG), which was made by the framer Charles Mitchell May, used by Sargent between 1894 and 1922.
This frame is the original chosen by Dame Laura Knight. Her framer, J. H. Steer, advertised in the London Telephone Directories from 1905 to 1931.
About the Artist
Dame Laura Knight studied at Nottingham School of Art and the Royal College of Art. She and her husband, the artist Harold Knight, were a force in British art. Between 1908 and 1918 they lived and worked in Cornwall, where they influenced many artists. She publishes her autobiography, 'Oil Paint and Grease Paint', in 1936 and another volume, 'The Magic of a line', in 1965, providing a valuable account of the community life of artists in Cornwall.
The Knights were friends with William Ayerst Ingram (1855-1913) and were staying with him at Witton Villas, Woodlane, Falmouth when the 1911 census was taken. Both Laura and Harold exhibited at the first Falmouth Art Gallery in Grove Place, which was founded in 1894 by Ingram and Tuke.