The FRAME Symposium series has established itself as the premier gathering in the Southern Hemisphere for picture frame research, conservation, and scholarship. Building on our highly successful symposiums in 2016 and 2019, FRAME Symposium 3 continues to strengthen the professional networks and advance the field's most critical research and practice.

Drawing inspiration from the esteemed frame conferences at New York University and The Wallace Collection in London, the FRAME Symposium series has evolved into an essential international forum. It advances the science and art of frame conservation and history, while fostering cooperation between institutions worldwide. The symposium's diverse range of topics, including frame history, conservation techniques, gilding technology, museum practice, and contemporary research methodologies, ensures that every participant is intellectually stimulated and engaged.

FRAME Symposium 3 brings together curators, conservators, and industry experts from local, national, and international galleries, libraries, and museums to share world-class research on all aspects of picture frames, from design through to history and conservation.

Overview

Keynote Speakers

FRAME Symposium 3 brings together an extraordinary assembly of museum professionals and cultural heritage experts from the world's most prestigious institutions.

We are thrilled to announce our two distinguished international keynote speakers:

Dr. Charlotte Chastel-Rousseau

Chief Curator
, Spanish and Portuguese Painting (16th-19th centuries), Frame Collection
Beistegui and Lyon Collections
Department of Paintings, Musée du Louvre, Paris

Josephina de Fouw MA

Conservator of 18th-century Painting and Frames
Department of Painting
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Call for papers - now open!

We are pleased to announce that the call for papers is now open for the 2026 FRAME: Concept, History and Conservation, Symposium 3. This international gathering will explore comprehensive aspects of picture frame research, encompassing innovative conservation methodologies, emerging industry developments, and historical scholarship. 

FRAME: Symposium 3 themes

We welcome submissions addressing the following broad topics:

  • Frame history and development of styles

  • Frame design and technology

  • Conservation framing practices

  • Conservation of gilded and polychrome finishes on wood

  • Conservation problems, history, technology and research on frames

Presentation Types

20-minute presentations: We invite abstracts of up to 250 words for papers that present contemporary research on any of the conference themes. 

5-minute lightning talks: We invite abstracts of 150 words that engage with the conference themes.