Here’s a good image for spring. I have a soft spot for the prints of Henry Evans (1918–1990) because I knew the artist a little bit. In my early years working at Storey Framing, Evans and his wife Marsha were regulars, coming in for frames for Henry’s prints. So it gives me pleasure to honor the artist I knew by hanging a pair of Henry Evans prints in my gallery as part of our current exhibit of Berkeley-affiliated print-makers.
Henry Evans, “Peony,” 1986. Block print, 13″ x 20″ paper size.
“Peony” is dated 1986. The frame is walnut with a clear finish, and about 1-1/2″ wide until it approaches the corners, at which point it flairs out into a pattern suggested by the leaves in the print and the particular way Mr. Evans transformed the flower into an arrangement of flat shapes. As the design of the flower is very flat, so is the frame.
Back in the day, frames for these prints were invariably minimalist—as thin as possible, sometimes cold aluminum, even plastic clips. Frames for people who hate frames. Times have changed and, tired of the indifference of such feeble settings, instinct is leading us back to the original purpose and meaning of frames as enhancements to pictures, and as settings of honor.
Another post on framing Henry Evans is here.