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A museum wrap is a technique used to mount a canvas artwork in such a way that no additional framing is required. The technique works well in modern and minimalistic interiors.

Locally in South Africa the the technique is more commonly known as a 'box mount' or a 'deep-mount stretcher frame' .

 

A museum wrap consists of a wooden frame slightly larger than the size of the picture and between 40 and 55mm deep.

The canvas is stretched over the frame so that all of the picure is viewable from the front, and the sides are either left as plain canvas or painted black or some complementary colour to the picture or the interior.

The canvas is stapled at the back so that the front and sides are neat and tidy.

Two options are available:

    1. A budget frame which consists of a basic rigid prebuilt frame with suitable reinforcement.

    2. A professional frame built from laminated wood for increased strength and durability that includes tension wedges for adjusting the tension of the canvas at a later time should it be necessary.

A professional frame is indicated when the longest side is more than 1.5 meters or very high quality canvas is used and the frame should last as long as the canvas. This type of frame is of course a bit more expensive than the budget option.   

Below is one of the Sandstone Mirror series museum wrapped and hanging on a wall. Our default option for treating the sides is to print a black border round the image. This is then used as the side and back of the museum wrap. Notice the neat and uncluttered appearance a museum wrap provides.

 

 

 

The rear view of the image shows suitable cross bracing as the item is fairly large (1.2m x .9m) (4  x 3 feet). The outer frame in this case was built from Obeechi wood as it is light and strong and does not warp in damp conditions. The cross bracing is pine wood. This is a typical example of a budget frame.

A string for hanging was provided in this case but many people prefer to hang the painting flush against the wall. The simplest way of achieving this is simply to knock two nails in the wall and suspen the painting from the nails using the frame.

You will notice that the outer edges at the back is taped so that the staples securing the canvas to the frame is not visible. This not a requirement,  it just protects the staples from scratching the wall and makes the finish a bit more professional.

 

 

 

 

A related technique called a 'gallery wrap' uses part of the picture as the sides with no border visible.   

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