'The birth of liquid anguish' by Salvador Dalí, and others

We completed our contribution to 'The Art of the Surreal Evening Sale' hosted by Christie's by framing artwork by Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró, and Remedios Varo, which collectively sold for almost $8 million.

Christie's commissioned John Davies Framing to craft multiple prestigious custom frames for their annual Evening Sale, showcasing many high-profile artworks. As well as framing the primary highlight of the auction, 'L'ami intime' by René Magritte (which sold for $43 million), we also framed for this auction:

'The birth of liquid anguish' by Salvador Dalí (sold for $2.5 million)

'L'échelle de l'évasion' (The escape ladder) by Joan Miró (sold for $4.4 million)

'Niño y mariposa (Niño triste)' by Remedios Varo (sold for $1 million)

How did we make it?

For a luxurious frame worthy of the Dalí, we assembled our unparalleled team of expert craftsmen. We created a stunning Scotia Shelf frame to both enhance and complement the artwork, a style shared by 'L'ami intime' by René Magritte.

First stage is to do a design and scale drawing.

We map out the size of the sections and how they join together. We measured the Dalí and incorporated its custom size into the required rebate (the inner cut-out lip of the frame that holds the artwork).

Next, we pick and cut the wood.

We selected a stunning pearwood tree trunk to frame the Dalí, enhancing it with a laminate of thick trenched pine for added support and durability.

We layered up the pearwood pieces on top of the pine piece by piece, before we glued, pinned and clamped the frame.

Then, we sand and polish the frame to the highest standard.

Once the glue dried, we fully sanded by hand to give the smoothest surface for the polish.

The polish was applied in two stages to give the most high quality outcome. First, we applied 7 layers of stain and button polish, built up and sanded in between. Then, we applied another 7 layers of button polish, with wax rubbed smooth with fine wire wool.

For this particular bespoke frame, we also gilded the sight edge (the inner edge) of the frame with gold leaf to further enhance the Dalí. We distressed and darkened it in tone to ensure it was complimentary and not overwhelming to the piece.

Last, we add the finishing touches.

The face of the frame gets a very soft distress to give the impression of age, before a final buff up with a soft cloth to bring it up to perfection.

Our influence on the art world

Dalí is just one of the groundbreaking and influential artists we have framed. Our influence in framing masterpieces stretches to Van Gogh, Magritte, Picasso, Rembrandt, Renoir, Monet, Cezanne, and more.

Find out more about these prestige frames and how they were made in our Reframing Masterpieces series.

Find out more about our story here.