Frederick Harer and the Framemakers of Bucks County
You’ve heard of the New Hope School of Pennsylvania Impressionists—find out more the group of framemakers who worked in consultation with these artists.
When was the last time you considered the story behind a painting’s frame? From antique gilding to sleek, minimalist edges, the style of a frame speaks volumes—and can often make just as much of an impact as the canvas itself.
Freeman’s biannual American Art and Pennsylvania Impressionists sales feature coveted works from some of the most esteemed members of the famed New Hope School, from Daniel Garber to Fern Coppedge—and the works’ handcrafted frames have a history all their own.
“Because painters who could afford them eagerly sought out talented frame artists, framemaking centers often arose near art colonies and in important art centers such as New York and Boston,”
writes Erika Jaeger-Smith.
“But during the twentieth century, another important framemaking locus emerged—this time in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, an area that boasted a rich colony of artists who came to be known as Pennsylvania Impressionists.”
The most notable of these Bucks County framemakers was Frederick William Harer, not only a distinguished framemaker but a talented painter and sculptor in his own right. Deeply influenced by his extensive travels to Spain and Old World craft, Harer set about making unique hand-carved frames that became sought-after among painters both in New Hope and nationally.
Identifying Harer frames is straightforward, both due to his unparalleled intricate carving in signature zigzag, herringbone, or punch work designs, and because he signed them as works of fine art. His use of color and patterning—including punctuating gold embossing with black detail—reveals his admiration for Spanish aesthetics. As Harer himself said,
“All my designs are based on fundamental truths that I hope will survive this period and all others, as the primitives have done.”
![1063222-4.jpg](https://colossal-chubby-zipper.media.strapiapp.com/1063222_4_d973646298.jpg)
Eventually Harer, flooded with commissions, took on an apprentice: Bernard Badura. Like Harer, Badura was also an excellent painter, having studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts under Pennsylvania Impressionist Daniel Garber and modernist Arthur B. Carles. When Badura opened his own studio in New Hope, he initially recreated the styles taught by his mentor. But as time went on, Badura developed a style all his own: a combination of Harer’s teachings and new techniques, at times eschewing gilding for pastel sgraffito designs, for instance.
![1052946-4_Yates.jpg](https://colossal-chubby-zipper.media.strapiapp.com/1052946_4_Yates_7a9376e0d8.jpg)
Another influential Bucks County framemaker was Philip N. Yates. Though we don’t know many details about his life, as Jaeger-Smith writes, “his frames tell their own story.” Though there isn’t evidence that the Australian-born Yates studied under Harer directly, his style is clearly influenced by the master framemaker—from his Old World methods to the belief that the frame is connected to the painting itself, the two creating a complete work of art together.
Ultimately, writes Jaeger-Smith,
“the Bucks County framemakers were not a disparate group of artists who happened to create extraordinary frames in similar styles, using equivalent processes. These artists are part of the legacy of Frederick Harer, a quiet man who was the mainstay of a national framemaking center he helped to create.”
Harer’s legacy looms large over the rich history of Pennsylvania Impressionism, not just complementing the works therein but an integral part of the canvases themselves and the artistic process that helped bring them to life. Freeman’s is pleased to bring several canvases in their original commissioned frames to market in its American Art and Pennsylvania Impressionists auction, offering collectors the opportunity to display and appreciate the works as intended by both artist and framemaker.