Fine Art Frames

Your Pictures: Bristol's 'lost' Hogarth altarpiece

A new BBC series, Hidden Paintings, tells the story of some of the 200,000 publicly-owned oils which are not on display in England's museums and art galleries.

Approximately 1,200 oil paintings make up Bristol City Council's fine art collection - most of which is not on public view.

St Nicholas Church, which is now a city council office, is home to a vast altarpiece painted by William Hogarth in 1756.

And its history is an interesting one.

Redcliffe Church originally commissioned Hogarth to paint a canvas as an altarpiece and he produced three large canvasses, known as a triptych.

Called Sealing of the Tomb, it depicts the Ascension, the Sealing of the Sepulchre and the Three Marys at the Tomb.

The church put the paintings - for which Hogarth was paid £525 - into gilded frames under the guidance of Bristol architect, Thomas Paty.

They hung there for 100 years but then the church decided that they were no longer suitable for Redcliffe.

They were initially given to the Bristol Fine Art Academy, now known as the Royal West of England Academy, but were then put into storage in 1910.

The altarpiece was purchased by Bristol Museums and Galleries in 1955, with the help of the National Arts Collections Fund's Art Fund, and is now housed in St Nicholas Church.

The painting can be viewed from Monday to Friday, during office hours, by appointment only on 0117 903 9010.

You can see BBC One's Hidden Paintings at 2225 BST on Sunday, June 26.

Choose Custom Metal Picture Frames For Fine Art Photographs | NM Photo

Custom metal picture frames make the perfect choice for framing fine art photographs.  When you have glorious photos that are uniquely sized, you will want to invest in custom picture frames to suit their aspect and show them off.  When selecting custom metal picture frames, you will have your choice of metal widths and depth and that, along with an appropriate mat board, will complete the look of your fine art photography and allow you to show it at a gallery or in your home.

Fine art photographers traditionally stick with classic black metal picture frames.  Black metal picture frames will not draw attention away from your artwork, and thus they are a top choice when the photographs will be displayed in an art gallery setting.  Art galleries have many pieces of artwork on display, and the room can start to look very busy and disorganized if there are a wide variety of frames used, which is why they often pick sleek and clean-lined black metal picture frames for all of the artwork on display.  Aluminum picture frames are commonly used in this manner, and they are available for custom order.  

Fine art photographs are often framed in custom metal picture frames and utilize a wide white mat board for a final border around the photo.  This is an especially attractive choice for black and white photographs, because the wide width of the mat board will help to draw the viewer’s attention to the center of the custom picture frames that hold the artwork.

When ordering custom black metal picture frames, you may select the width and height that you prefer.    Having more depth in the custom picture frames is another means for bringing attention to the artwork inside the center of the frame.

Many artists choose custom aluminum picture frames because of the size of their artwork.  Although ready-made frames are less expensive, they do not always come in the sizes that you need if your artwork is outside of the standard.  If you create large panoramic photos, for example, you may need custom aluminum picture frames sized to fit.  

Choose the metal used for your frames carefully.  The best metals for frames are high-quality aluminum with an anodized finish.  This type of metal will be both durable and beautiful, and makes a great choice for framing artwork.  

Fine art photography suppliers online will have a full range of options for when you want custom metal picture frames for use with your fine art photographs or other types of artwork.

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