Historical information

This print appears to be a copy of an oil painting by the American painter "Henry Pember Smith" (1854 - 1907) who was well known for depicting ocean and countryside views around the states of Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island and New Jersey.

It has been inserted into an intricate frame made from hundreds of interlocking slender pieces of wood that are self-supporting - without using glue or nails. This skillfully executed technique is called "Crown of Thorns" - sometimes known as "tramp art" in the U.S. or "puzzle frames". The technique was used to embellish an object such as (in this case) a frame or a box or furniture. The maker and age is unknown.

Significance

This frame is highly significant due to it's rarity and the skill of the unknown craftsman who constructed it.

Physical description

A print of an oil painting showing a pond or stream with a fisherman in a boat. Trees, shrubs and a building are in the background. Two ducks and a tree are in the foreground. It has a glass front with a gold inner frame and is on a wooden back with diagonal struts for reinforcement. The paper backing is fragile and damaged. The print has been inserted into a spiky wooden frame made in the "Crown of Thorns" style using hundreds of interlocking pieces of wood. Some of the pieces have fallen out. Wire has been attached to the back.