Hermann Dudley Murphy: Frame Maker

"Clouds and Water" by Herman Dudley Murphy
Gilded and Painted Wood Frame also by Murphy

"Still another aspect of artistic concern that links Hermann Dudley Murphy with Whistler and also with the Aesthetic Movement was his concern with the totality of the work of art - the picture complemented by a specially designed and toned frame and, indeed, hung against a background of suitable color and texture.

It was an aspect of the Arts and Crafts Movement's to insist upon the artist's involvement in the practice of the crafts in order to carry high ideals of design into every product of manufacture. He was the first American frame maker to sign his frames, making the statement that they, too, were works of art. Murphy's involvement in frame making and design is additional evidence of his preoccupation with Aesthetic and Arts and Crafts ideals which were having a considerable impact in Boston at the turn of the century. He led a veritable revolution in American framing which made Boston the center for artistic framing in the country.

Here again Murphy's interest in framing extended back into his Paris student days when he would surely have seen examples of Whistler's frames. He himself has told us that being convinced of the supreme importance of individual and proper framing to the impact of a picture, and without resources to order the finest of frames, he purchased the necessary tools and learned the skills of carving and gilding. 

His interest in frames was shared by Charles Prendergast and when in 1903 Murphy built his first house in Winchester, Massachusetts, the two men set up a frame shop in the basement, names after the Celtic name of Murphy's house, Carrig-Rohane (Red Cliff). Later, in 1905, the shop moved into its own premises in Boston and prospered considerably, bringing Murphy substantial income. To begin with frames were carved to Murphy's own designs. Later he turned his shares of the company over to his artisans and the shop entered into partnership with the Vose Gallery in Boston. Among its productions were many of the most beautiful frames executed in this century, according to a standard far in excess of anything that can be procured today."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "Hermann Dudley Murphy" by William A. Coles. A good article on his frames: https://www.museumaacm.org/newsletters/newsletter07142021.html )