We’ve recently enjoyed framing two oil paintings by
Blanche Lazell (1878-1956), a Provincetown artist best known for her white line block prints. Lazell liked to experiment and took great interest in the artistic trends of her day, as demonstrated by these two very different paintings. The contrast in style prompted two highly contrasting settings.
This first painting is 8″ x 10″, and we set it in a 1-3/4″-wide slope, No. 22.6 CV in quartersawn white oak (Saturated Medieval Oak stain). The outside edge of the face is beveled back and carved, as is the sight edge chamfer. The 1/8″ slip is gilded with pale gold leaf. This profile has proven to be especially versatile and useful. In this case, it suits the geometric design of the composition and resonates especially with the triangles. The carving echoes the picture’s surface texture created by its loose brushwork on coarse canvas.
Lazell composed this second piece, which is 18″ x 14″, in cubist fashion, using very bold, hard-edged flat forms. Compared to the first painting, this one has little texture. The shapes are less angular and more rounded. It thus called for a very different frame. We made it a 2″ wide, bold, rounded corner frame in smooth walnut, stained black. Proud splines accent the corners.
Lazzell working outside her Provincetown studio, 1951. Image from the West Virginia Regional & History Center.