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Why does the frame cost more than the art?
An inexpensive print or poster is going to run anywhere from $3 to $300, depending on the quality of the print. A poster is mass-produced and printed with lesser-quality inks on thin paper. A giclée is a fine-art print with a limited print run or printed on demand. Giclées typically are printed with higher quality inks on heavier paper and are sometimes signed by the artist. Neither of these are one-of-a-kind, rare, original, or custom works of art.
Sometimes custom framing a simple, inexpensive print or poster winds up costing more than the art itself. A basic reproduction of famous art like American Gothic can be purchased for a few dollars. Custom framing that same print can be many times the original cost of the art. If you didn't spend that much for the art, why would you spend more on your framing? Here are some of the reasons it's hard to compare the cost of art to framing.
What affects the price of a project custom-framed with wood moulding?
Material. It’s wood! A natural product takes time to grow and process. Hardwoods, softwoods, veneers, and pressed woods will all cost different amounts.
Location of origin. Was the frame made in the USA, Italy, or China?
Production. Has the wood been hand carved or machine milled?
Frame finish. Has the frame been hand finished and/or gilded in gold leaf?
Quantity. This frame was ordered especially by you. Was the frame moulding purchased as length, already chopped to size, or pre-assembled?
Glazing. Is there glass or plexi? A non-glare finish? UV protection?
Labor. This one-of-a-kind frame package was specifically designed for your art and put together just for you. That takes time and care!
Are you getting your money’s worth?
Framing protects your art from bugs, rips, and fading. A good framing display showcases your art so you can enjoy it daily. How can you really compare?
Big box shops will frequently mark their prices up specifically so they can mark them down and offer huge sales. Customers are often wooed by the deeply discounted prices advertised for “custom framing” at these stores. But is that really “custom framing”? Let’s examine. When you visit a big box store, you are often times not working with the person that will be creating your piece. In fact, more often than not, none of the elements of your piece (the frame, the matting, or the glass) will be cut on site. Those elements are created off site, then assembled on-site by a minimally trained salesperson. And sometimes, your artwork or your precious memorabilia will be shipped off to another location altogether for framing. Big box stores can also have a very limited selection of mouldings and matboards to choose from. And, the quality of this selection is sometimes questionable. We recommend that buyers always ask if the materials they are purchasing are conservation-quality and if the mouldings are wood (not PVC). These materials help preserve the artwork and protect it from damaging environmental factors.
Grant Wood, artist of American Gothic
Grant Wood was an American painter best known for his paintings depicting the rural American Midwest. American Gothic was painted with oils on wood in 1930. The painting won third place in a contest hosted by the Art Institute of Chicago, who then purchased it. The iconic house is in Iowa and is referred to as “The Dibble House.” Wood intended the characters to be father and daughter; the man was actually modeled after Wood’s dentist and the woman is Wood’s sister. The general reception was very favorable, but Iowans felt it made them look dowdy.
A Grant Wood landscape painting sold for $7 million in 2005, so you can imagine what American Gothic would fetch if it sold today.
