Picture Framing Terms Explained

Framers use short words for the parts of a frame and the ways a picture is held in it. This list explains each word in plain language, in alphabetical order. Where one of our guides covers a subject in full, the entry links to it. Read it before a visit to any framing shop, and the quote and the choices will be easier to follow.

A to C

Acid-free

Board, paper or tape made so that it does not turn acidic with age. Ordinary card turns acidic and leaves a brown stain on the paper it touches. See acid-free mats and backing.

Acrylic

A clear plastic sheet used at the front of a frame in place of glass. It weighs less than glass and does not shatter, and it scratches more easily. See acrylic vs glass.

Anti-reflective glass

Glass with a coating that reduces reflections, so you see the picture and less of the room. See our anti-reflective glass guide.

Backing board

The stiff board behind the picture. It keeps the picture flat and closes the back of the frame. It touches the picture for as long as the picture is framed, so it should be acid-free.

Bevel

The slanted cut around the opening of a mat. The slant shows a thin line of the inside of the board around the picture.

Bumpers

Small soft pads on the bottom corners of the back of a frame. They hold the frame off the wall, so air can move behind it and the frame hangs straight.

Conservation framing

Framing in which every material that touches the work is acid-free, every step can be undone, and the glazing filters ultraviolet light. See our conservation framing standards.

D to F

D-ring

A metal ring shaped like the letter D, screwed to the back of a frame. The hanging wire ties to two of them, or each ring hangs on its own hook. See hanging hardware.

Deckle edge

The rough, feathered edge of a sheet of handmade paper. Framers often show it by floating the sheet, since a mat would cover it.

Double mat

Two mats, one under the other. The lower mat shows as a thin line of a second colour around the opening. See double mats and fillets.

Dry mounting

Bonding a print to a board with heat and adhesive so that it stays flat. It is permanent, so it is used for posters and prints that can be replaced, and kept away from originals.

Dust seal

A sheet of paper sealed across the back of a frame. It keeps dust and insects out.

Fillet

A thin strip of wood, often gilded, fitted inside the opening of a mat or the inner edge of a frame as a narrow decorative line.

Float mount

A way of mounting in which the whole sheet shows, edges included, on top of a backing board. The mat or the frame stands back from the sheet. See float mounting.

Floater frame

A frame for a stretched canvas. The canvas sits inside it with a small gap all round, so the painted edges stay in view. See floater frames for canvas.

A floater frame is the word above that is used for paintings on canvas. Sin and Liberation is an oil on canvas, 70 by 100 cm, showing a figure falling through clouds beside a large silver disc and a red apple, and it is one of the originals in our gallery.

G to M

Gallery wrap

A canvas stretched so that the picture continues around the sides of the bars, with the fixings at the back. It can hang with no frame. See frameless and gallery wrap.

Glazing

The clear sheet at the front of a frame. It is glass or acrylic, and it comes plain, with an ultraviolet filter, with an anti-reflective coating, or with both.

Hinge

A small tab of thin paper that holds the top edge of a picture to the backing board. The rest of the sheet hangs free, so the paper can move as the air changes. See framing works on paper.

Mat

The border of card between a picture and its frame, with an opening that shows the picture. It also holds the glazing away from the surface of the picture. In Britain it is called a mount.

Moulding

The shaped length of wood or metal that a frame is cut from. Its shape seen from the end is called the profile. See frame profiles explained.

Museum glass

A trade name used for glass that has both an ultraviolet filter and an anti-reflective coating. See museum glass vs conservation glass.

Gallery wrap and moulding are both words you hear when a canvas is framed. The Weight of Suffering, an oil on canvas, 71.1 by 101.6 cm, shows a blindfolded figure in a dark jacket with a yellow sheep lying across its head.

R to U

Rebate

The step on the inside of a frame that holds the glazing, the mat, the picture and the backing. Its depth decides how much the frame can hold. In North America it is also spelled rabbet.

Shadow box

A deep frame built like a shallow box, for objects with thickness such as medals, clothing or keepsakes. See shadow box framing.

Spacer

A thin strip hidden under the inner edge of a frame. It holds the glazing away from the picture when there is no mat to do it.

Stretcher bars

The wooden bars that a canvas is pulled over and fixed to. See stretcher bars explained.

UV glazing

Glass or acrylic with a filter for ultraviolet light, the part of daylight that fades paper, ink and dye. See UV glass and glazing.

Words that get mixed up

Three pairs of words cause most of the confusion.

• Mat and mount. In Canada and the United States the card border is a mat, and mounting means how the picture is attached. In Britain the border itself is called a mount.
• Float mount and floater frame. A float mount is for paper: the whole sheet shows on top of a board. A floater frame is for a stretched canvas: the canvas sits inside the frame with a gap around it.
• Conservation glass and museum glass. Both filter ultraviolet light. Museum glass also has an anti-reflective coating.

For how these parts go together in one frame, see how framing protects a painting, and for the questions to ask with these words in hand, see how to choose a picture framer.