The Nelson Meers Foundation is delighted to have supported a grant which funds a trainee in the Gallery’s important framing conservation area. The traineeship, which commenced in 2012, was for three years and focussed on developing skills in three core areas:

• Making designed wooden mouldings to form the carcass of the frame
• Making ornaments from composition materials or by carving
• Learning traditional water and oil gilding techniques and other finishing techniques

Traditional frame-making and conservation skills are a dying art in Australia, yet frames often play a significant part of our appreciation of an artwork. We supported this project because we believe in the importance of preserving these skills so that the Art Gallery of NSW can continue to deliver the highest quality experience of its collection to its audiences.