Although I am an antique frame fanatic, I also love certain 20th Century styles like this gilt and heavily distressed painted frame. It is a design we try and replicate, and we have our own versions of this gilding combined with distressed paint and colour washes. This style of frame finish is something of a modern classic in my opinion, and I would be interested to know more about the history of these frames, and who first started making them.
This frame has a label of the framemakers and art shippers:
James Bourlet and Sons Ltd. I've always called these types of frames (gilded and distressed paint) 'Bourlet frames', something I picked up from an art dealer years ago. The company has a very rich history and continue to make some fantastic frames in London, maybe this style was even first designed by the Bourlet framemakers.
As in the previous post, there is a lot of historical info on this company in the directory of British framemakers 1630-1950 by Jacob Simon on the NPG website, in fact the previous maker W.A. Smith was apparently taken over by James Bourlet in 1899:
http://www.npg.org.uk/research/conservation/directory-of-british-framemakers/b.php
