The Gilder was founded in 1991 with a focus on providing a high quality framing service to artists, art galleries and art collectors. Over the years, we have had the opportunity to frame a rich diversity of artwork in many different kinds of media, including paintings, works on paper and photography. We often collaborate with both emerging and established artists to help determine the best way to present their work, and do on occasion assist in producing the artwork itself. We have experience with a variety of Canadian art, both 20th century and earlier, as well as European art, from old masters and 19th-century painting to early 20th-century modernism and contemporary art. Our frames are part of many Canadian and international collections, both public and private, and have travelled to private and public galleries and museums worldwide.
We build our own frames in house and can cater to a wide range of unique framing needs.
Early on, we dedicated ourselves to designing and making our own frames in-house, whether they were simple wood frames with natural, stained or painted finishes, or involved more complex water gilded or gesso applications — a tradition we have continued as the scope of our work has evolved. We mill and shape our own mouldings using a number of domestic hardwoods such as maple, white oak, walnut and cherry. Our frames have closed corners and are joined with wood splines. Our gilded frames are made using traditional gilder’s gesso, a mix of chalk and rabbit skin glue, and are water gilded on coloured bole with white or 23 karat gold leaf. Many of our frames are designed specifically for floating modern paintings. Ultimately, we take pride in our ability to respond to the need of a client by producing custom frames that are most appropriate for the work.
