NEW YORK, NY.- In honor of Frederic Church’s birthday (born May 4, 1826), Eli Wilner & Company revisits the reframing of his 1857 painting “Heart of the Andes” for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The undertaking of this project, which involved the pairing of the artwork with an original period frame designed by Church himself, was accomplished in part with assistance from Wilner’s ongoing partial funding for museums program.

As of May 2025, Eli Wilner & Company’s frame funding initiative is announcing another round of $150,000 available for distribution in partial grants. Exciting new projects continue to be submitted on a daily basis by museums across the country. Remaining funds will be committed to new projects by June 30, 2025, and can be used for frame restoration, historic frame replication, or mirror replication projects. Interested institutions can apply by emailing the details of their reframing or frame restoration needs to info@eliwilner.com. No project is too large.

Frederic Church’s ‘Heart of the Andes’ was inspired by Church’s second trip to South America in the spring of 1857. Church sketched prolifically throughout his nine weeks in Ecuador, and many extant watercolors and drawings contain elements found in this work. The picture was publicly unveiled in New York at Lyrique Hall, 756 Broadway, on April 27, 1859. Subsequently moved to the gallery of the Tenth Street Studio Building, it was lit by gas jets concealed behind silver reflectors in a darkened chamber. The work caused a sensation, and twelve to thirteen thousand people paid twenty-five cents apiece to file past it each month. The picture was also shown in London, where it was greatly admired as well. Astonishing in its accurate and detailed rendering of native foliage, the 66 1/8 x 119 ¼ inch oil on canvas is considered by many scholars to be Church’s greatest painting.


Frederic Church “Heart of the Andes”, 1857, as originally exhibited in 1859.

About a decade ago, as preparations for the re-installation of the American Paintings galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art were underway, curator Elizabeth Kornhauser put great thought into how “Heart of the Andes” would be best displayed. The painting had been residing in a simple, dark, modern wood construction that had been created for an exhibition years earlier, a choice that had meant to evoke the aesthetic from the painting’s original frame in 1859. After extensive searches a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity presented itself: Eli Wilner & Company had a large and rare period frame designed by Church himself. The frame was in excellent condition, requiring minimal alteration to fit the painting, and the profile, gilded surface and delicate ornament all served to beckon the viewer into the lush South American landscape



Detail: Original American period frame, circa 1870, designed by Frederic Church, applied ornament and gilded with acanthus leaf and fluted coves and Church’s signature Moorish star motif on the top rail, with an additional gilded liner for Heart of the Andes (66 1/8” X 119 ¼”)

Wilner’s team has the opportunity to frame many important artworks by Frederic Church for various institutions in the past four decades. Some examples include:


Frederic Church, Chimborazo, 1864, The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens Replica frame by Eli Wilner & Company.


Frederic Church, Rutland Falls, The White House Collection. Framed by Eli Wilner & Company with an American period frame, circa 1850s, applied ornament and gilded.


Coast Scene, Mount Desert (Sunrise off the Maine Coast) by Frederic Edwin Church, Oil on canvas; 36 1/8 x 48 inches, dated 1863, Bequest of Clara Hinton Gould. Replica frame by Eli Wilner & Company.


Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900) Twilight in the Wilderness, 1860 oil on canvas, 40 x 64 inches Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund Replica frame by Eli Wilner & Company.


The Icebergs, C. Risdon chromolithograph after Frederic Church, The Icebergs (The North), 1863, 20 1/2 x 35 3/8 inches, The Olana Partnership Replica frame by Eli Wilner & Company.


Frederic Church, Rainy Season in the Tropics, 1866, de Young museum Replica frame by Eli Wilner & Company with an original period gilded and incised liner.

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 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. In 2024, Eli Wilner was presented with an Iris Award for Outstanding Dealer of the Year by the Bard Graduate Center in New York City.