Great Depression Era Tramp Art Frame

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A tramp art frame, hand-crafted in the classic American folk-art tradition and dating back to at least the Great Depression … Read more A tramp art frame, hand-crafted in the classic American folk-art tradition and dating back to at least the Great Depression era, but possibly as early as 1875. Like most tramp art of the period, it was built from repurposed cigar-box wood -- thin, freely available lumber that home craftsmen chip-carved and layered into remarkably dimensional pieces using nothing more than a pocketknife and patience.

Provenance: from the collection of Michael Cornish, co-author with Clifford Wallach of Tramp Art: One Notch at a Time, a classic reference. Its place in his collection signals its authenticity and value as a collector's item, in addition to its decorative value.

This frame shows off the best of what tramp art offers: crisp notch-carved edges run the full length of every moulding, creating the signature sawtooth border. The wood is built up in multiple stacked layers -- you can count roughly five in the corner cross-sections -- giving the frame real depth. Each of the four "fleur de lis" corners is crowned with a large radiating "fan" -- layered teardrop-shaped elements that fan outward like a flower, one of the most desirable and labor-intensive tramp art motifs.

Throughout, the individual carved pieces are secured with small brass tacks and hand-cut nails, many of them still bright and visible. The wood has aged to a warm, mellow brown with an attractive natural patina.

It would make a wonderful surround for a mirror, a painting, or a favorite photograph, or simply hang as sculptural folk art on its own. See less