Need Ideas for Framing HUGE Triptych

[archistory]

I was sent here by members of the Reddit Framing group, as this seems to be outside their bailiwick. I'm seeking suggestions for framing a triptych that is 216" wide by 92" high. The three 72" x 92" panels are oil on canvas with wooden stretchers, and need to be mounted tight to each other, so I need a process that will incorporate structural integrity. As the painting is abstract expressionist (see attached image) it needs only a simple unadorned frame about 1.5" deep by 1-1.50" wide. Regardless of material used I will have the final frame gold leafed by a gilding service I've used before.

Due to the length of frame pieces, I'm really trying to avoid having seams be evident where the sticks are joined, and I'd prefer to have closed corners. Most likely a floating style frame would be best. I've consulted the top framers in the Chicago area as well as cabinet makers and they all say they cannot handle anything this size. I've investigated having a frame fabricated from aluminum or steel, but I'm concerned about the difference in expansion/contraction between metal and wood as well as the weight.

I realize this is an uncommon size, but I'm hoping someone in this august group has had experience with artwork this immense. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Bruce Papier]

Just a preliminary question- Have the people you've talked to turned you down because they think this is totally impossible or just impossible to do given the width and height of the frame you're proposing? Floaters get all their strength from the stretcher bars, not the frame itself and this is going to need some hefty stretchers. In addition, the frame itself is going to need to be sturdier than the dimensions you listed will produce. Doing a closed corner frame that size will require some type of splining in the corners or they will pop under the strain and ruin the closed corners. That part seems possible, but expensive. Lots and lots of handwork to get it ready to be leafed.

 

[Prospero]

You have to think outside the box for projects like this. Abandon the concept of the 'frame' supporting
the panels. You can quite easily make a subframe out of PSE timber the size you need and fix the panels
to this. It can be made as sturdy as required as if you use a laminated construction it will make it stable
and half-lap joints can made incorporated. Any butt joins can be reinforced by stggering the joins between
layers. Cross braces can also easily built in. The appearance is irrelevant as none of it will be seen. Also, it can
be hung from this subframe. Once you have done this an external (visible) frame can be added which plays no
real part in the structural integrity. It's almost a afterthought. The only prob you have then is having the space
and a big enough door to get it out.


Here's one I made earlier.....

No chiseling or fancy woodwork. Just a lot of gluing and screwing. It make a very strong but relatively light base.
As long as you can cut 90º it's simple to make.

 

[neilframer]

The only prob you have then is having the space
and a big enough door to get it out.

Yes
I did a very large canvas stretch and frame for the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver Colorado way back in about 1980.
It was so large that it would never fit in their doorway or in the elevator going to the floor for installation.

I had to cut the stretcher bars and the frame pieces and take them with my mitre vises and glue and compressor and vnailer to the hotel.
I had to take the cut bars and frame pieces in the freight elevator and remove the ceiling panel in the elevator to stick the pieces thru the ceiling of the elevator.
Then I had to join the stretcher bars and frame pieces in the room at the hotel where the framed canvas was going.

Stretched the canvas in the room, joined the frame, fitted it and hung it on the wall.
I wonder what they had to do if they had to remove this piece from the hotel room...

I framed a very large African tapestry years ago in a plexi box, about 96" x 120" and I had to raise the hanging lights in the shop to clear it.
We had large garage doors to get it out and the hanging was another company.
I also had to stretch and frame a very large piece a few years ago in our shop but the shop had the large garage doors so no problem getting it out.

Just make sure you can get it out and get it in for installation.

I started framing in Lincolnwood Ill. and Skokie in 1969 and then later I managed a wholesale/retail shop for the same company on Waveland Ave. 4 blocks from Wrigley Field until I left Chicago for Denver in 1977 and then moved to Phoenix in 1988.
Still framing and busier than ever .

 

[wpfay]

I would consult with SmallCorp, a sponsor here, about the engineering of such a frame.
Other possibilities would be Eli Wilner and/or Laumont in NYC. Possibly Barks.
As you are aware, the logistics will be daunting. I would focus on that first.

 

[JFeig]

As a gilder and frame maker since the early 80s it is a daunting engineering and logistic task. The largest concern I have is the expansion and contraction of the art from season to season based your concerns. There will have to be a visible line between each panel.
FYI, many, not all, of the supersized closed corner frames in that range are assembled on site, or adjoining rooms from sections that are bolted together. A late friend of mine, John Sansbury, supervised the construction of a portrait of GHW Bush for his library in Texas. The frame was actually made in Minneapolis, MN and transported on a trailer pulled by a car or pickup. When they got to the museum there were no opening large enough to get it into the building and they had to cut it apart to get in. It was reassembled and patched on sight. There was an article about this frame project in the old Decor Magazine circa 2005.

 

[Rick Hennen]

I frequently see hardwood over that length at a local supplier so creating a single piece length of Float Frame over 216" should not be an issue but finding material that is straight at that length may be another story. Crating and shipping something that large is a project in itself since depending on the truck, it would just fit through the back door standing up. Damage possibility increases many fold. Trying to get something this large fabricated locally may make the most sense.

 

[JFeig]

Tell us more about the type of frame you envision. Floater, squared off cap, with any ornament or pattern? How wide and how deep? If you intent to have the wood gessoed, with offset planks of wood glued together, as with laminated beams, makes the length of the rails not a problem.


This frame was made from standard "lumberyard lumber" milled on a table saw. It was gessoed in anticipation of being gilded. At the last minute the artist changed their mind to a painted and waxed finish.

 

[Rock knocker]

You have to think outside the box for projects like this. Abandon the concept of the 'frame' supporting
the panels. You can quite easily make a subframe out of PSE timber the size you need and fix the panel

Just to help the OP, the lumber is LVL, LSL, or PSL.

This is largely a finish carpentry task. Get the art work hanging with strainers, dead nuts on, and the assemble a frame around it. 18’ long pieces are probably too long to handle. And 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 stock is just too small.

Lamello makes some nifty proprietary click fit biscuits