Mitered Frames—Special Corners - Holton Studio Frame-Makers

Below are examples of mitered frame designs featuring decorative corners, emphasizing a key source of the frame’s artistic beauty: the constructive significance of its joints. The infinite range of decorative opportunities the corners of the frame afford is one of the great benefits of closed-corner frames. For good reason, picture frame makers have traditionally found their chief expressive opportunities in embellishing the frame’s corners to emphasize the frame’s protective duty and function, as well as its unifying compositional role—the physical integrity of the frame and the evident care in how it’s put together being key to the elemental artistic concern for unity.

As with frame profiles, the possibilities here are endless. Therefore, what’s offered below is not a finite set of options but examples of what can be done—a sense of the creative possibilities which we invite you to explore with us.

You’ll find examples of Special Corners on Compound Mitered Frames, on this page…

Proud Splines—

Trevor Davis completing a simple mitered frame with proud splines.

Our mitered frames are always joined with splines—triangles of wood inserted in slots cut through the joints. As do the joints of our through mortise-and-tenon frames, the splined corners of our mitered frames offer a simple opportunity to emphasize and enhance the inherent beauty of the frame’s joinery by exposing and giving slight relief to the main joining element—in this case the spline itself. The joint may be further accented with dowels that pin the joint—another constructive element with natural visual interest. This, then, is a good starting point for special decorative treatment of the corners.

: No. 1 Proud Spline

: No. 1 Pinned Proud Spline

: No. 15 CV Stops with Proud Spline

: No. 1 Outside Round Corner with Pinned Proud Spline “Hasui”

: “Hasui” detail

: No. 1 Round Corner, Inside & Out, with Proud Spline

: No. 1 Kobe Corner with Proud Spline

: No. 1 OS Proud Spline (variation)

: No. 1 OS Proud Spline (variation)

: No. 1 R OS Steps Proud Spline (variation)

: No. 1 R OS Steps Proud Spline (variations)

Simple Designs for Mitered Frames with Special Corners—

: No. 1 Simple Carved Corner (set one)

: No. 1 Simple Carved Corner (set two)

: No. 1 OS

: No. 14 CV OS

: No. 14 CV Stops

: No. 14 CV Curved Stops

: No. 2 CV Simple Corner Carving

: No. 1 OS CV (variation)

: No. 1 OS CV (variation)

: No. 1 Kobe

: No. 1 Round Corner—Inside & Out

: No. 1 R Round Corner (Diagonal)

: No. 1 “Ronin”

: No. 14 CV Scallops

: No. 15 CV Special—Gothic Leaf

: No. 15 CV A

: No. 15 CV corner panels

: No. 15 CV Special Corner (variation)

: No. 15.6 CV (variation)

: No. 15.6 CV (variation)

: No. 15.6 CV (variation)

: No. 15.6 CV (variation)

: No. 16 CV “S” Corners

: No. 16 CV Points

: No. 16.2 “Gimson”

: No. 16.1

: No. 16 CV special chamfer corner

: No. 16 CV OS special corner

: No. 1.1 CV special corner (variation)

: No. 15 CV Stopped Flutes

: No. 411 CV Special—Double Clouds

: No. 411 CV Crescents

Framed Examples:

Basic Mitered Frames with Special Corners on Matted and Floated Works on Paper—

: No. 1 Kobe on woodblock print by Kuniyoshi. SOLD.

: Utagawa Kunisada(1786-1865), “Ronin Wielding a Sword,” 1862. Was $950. Sale price: $650.
BUY

: Utagawa Kunisada(1786-1865), “Woman Feeding a Rooster.” Woodblock print. $950. Sale price: $695.
BUY

: No. 15 CV Stops on 19th Century Japanese woodblock print. SOLD.

: No. 411 CV Crescents on Kuniyoshi print*. SOLD.

: No. 1 “Kobe Leaf” on woodblock by Ohara Koson

: No. 1 Special decorative outset corners on watercolor*.

: “Overbeck-Holly”

: No. 1 with altered mitered joints* and carved flutes, on Gene Kloss etching.

: No. 14 CV with leaf design near corners

: No. 400 CV Flat Corners on Toshi Yoshida woodblock*

: No. 1 Round Corner (Inside and Out) on gouache by Jane Kriss,*

: No. 1 Round Corner (Inside and Out) on Japanese calligraphy

: “Hasui,” No. 1 R Round Corner (Outside) with Proud Spline on watercolor*

: Special carved corner frame on Patricia Curtan block print*

: No. 14 CV OS on Patricia Curtan block print*

: Maynard Dixon drawing

: F. Luis Mora, Santa Fe race scene

: No. 15 CV Panels—Scallops on historical watercolor*

: No. 14 CV Panels (special pattern) on Yoshiko Yamamoto print*

: No. 16 CV (“Step Up”) on Yoshiko Yamamoto print*

: No. 1 Simple Carved Corner—1/2″ (“Step Up”) on watercolor*

: No. 15 CV Panel Scallops on historical block print*

: No. 14 CV Special on contemporary Japanese print

: No. 1 OS on contemporary Japanese print

: No. 411 CV on drawing*

: Carved cove frame with proud splines on historical block print*

: No. 15 CV Special on print*

: No. 15 CV Stopped Flutes on Marion Kavanaugh Wachtel watercolor

: No. 1 Special Corner—3/4″ with Proud Splines on etching*

: No. 1 Special Corner—3/4″ with Proud Splines—orner detail

Mitered Frames with Special Corners on Paintings and Works on Paper Framed Close—

(Framing “close” means without a visible mat.)

: No. 15.6 CV (variation) on certificate*

: Carved oak frame on antique Map of Illinois

: Carved cassetta frame on Thomas Hill painting*

: Thomas Hill, Russian River

: Thomas Hill (1820-1908), (Yosemite Valley), n.d.

: Carved compound cushion frame on historical watercolor*

: Carved outset corner slope frame on historical oil painting*

: Carved outset corner slope frame on pastel*

: Carved corner compound frame on pastel*

: Carved outset corner frame on contemporary oil painting*

: Carved frame with proud splines, on Carol Peek painting*

: Carved compound slope frame on contemporary oil painting*

: Carved compound frame on contemporary oil painting*

: Carved compound frame on contemporary oil painting*

: Carved capped Aurora frame with carved gilt liner, on large historical oil painting*

: Carved corner cap molding on Compound Aurora frame on painting*

: Carved compound frame on contemporary oil painting*

: Carved compound frame on contemporary oil painting*

: Carved compound slope on contemporary oil painting*

: Historical oil painting by Virgil Williams*

: No. 1 OS on Kevin Brown painting*

: Historical watercolor by HW Hansen

: Carved compound frame on painting by Arnold Friberg

: Cherry cove with fine flute carving on historical watercolor*

: Carved compound frame on historical painting*

: “Back On the Road”

: Carved cassetta on painting by David Mann (b. 1948)*

: Gustave Baumann print in carved corner compound frame

: No. 1R Round Corner Diagonal—3″ on historical oil painting*

: Carved compound frame on contemporary oil painting*

: Custom carved walnut frame on Gustave Baumann print

: No. 16 CV Points on needlepoint

: Hyatt Moore painting, “Cheyenne Boy,” in carved corner frame

: No. 15 CV—Stops on poster by David Goines*

Proud Splines—

Simple Designs for Mitered Frames with Special Corners—

Framed Examples:

Basic Mitered Frames with Special Corners on Matted and Floated Works on Paper—

Mitered Frames with Special Corners on Paintings and Works on Paper Framed Close—

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