NEW YORK, NY.- The Bard Graduate Center has selected Eli Wilner to be one of four recipients of the 27th Annual Iris Foundation Award. The award will be presented at a luncheon on April 3, 2024. The other honorees this year are Marilyn Friedland, Diana Scarisbrick, and Dr. Wayne Modest. Founded by Dr. Susan Weber in 1993, the Bard Graduate Center is an academic unit of Bard College devoted to the study of decorative arts, design history, and material culture through research, advanced degrees, exhibitions, publications, and events. The Iris Awards are presented annually to honor professionals in the field of decorative arts, and provide well-needed scholarships and fellowships for study.

Eli Wilner has pioneered the creation and restoration of the perfect frame to house invaluable paintings. For the past forty years, he has been chosen to perform frame restorations for the most prestigious public and private art collections worldwide. One such project was the re-creation of the mammoth, eagle-crowned, gilded frame for Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze’s "Washington Crossing the Delaware" (1851). After completing his BA and MA in fine art, Wilner was a Bryant Fellow at the Metropolitan Museum of Art from 1995 to 1999. He has been a member of the Director’s Circle of the Smithsonian American Art Museum since 1997 and in 1998 he served on the board of trustees for the New York Academy of Art. In 1983 he founded Eli Wilner & Company, an institution of expert carvers, gilders, and mold-makers who are the world’s finest resource for antique American and European frames.

"Frames have a lot of power to influence our appreciation and interpretation of a painting," says Eli Wilner, but before selecting a frame, you need to make sure it's the right one. Most essential, according to Wilner, is historical accuracy. "A frame should reflect the period of the painting," he says. "I want to imagine that I'm the artist. I've just completed the painting and gone to my favorite framer. How would the artist approach the design? That's how I make every decision, whether it's for Rembrandt or Corot or John Singer Sargent." Also important: does the style of frame complement the painting itself? "Aesthetic consideration is crucial. After I narrow it down to the type of frame an artist would use, I look at the scale, decorative elements, and color that enhance a particular artwork."

Eli Wilner & Company has completed over 15,000 framing projects for private collectors, museums, and institutions including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and 28 projects for The White House. Wilner was honored by the Historic Charleston Foundation with the Samuel Gaillard Stoney Conservation Craftsmanship Award, for their work in historic picture frame conservation.