From 1959 until I retired in 2015, I was in the framing business and had developed a national reputation as a consultant and instructor in gilding, frame design, history and restoration.
In the mid-70s, I opened Master Framers when I purchased a vacant six-story warehouse in St. Paul’s Lowertown. In my 40-plus years in Lowertown, my staff and I developed 262 Studios—living and working lofts for artists—and created a national reputation for Master Framers—serving artists, museums, dealers and collectors.
FRAMING & RESTORATION
Professionally, he is a respected custom framer and Master Framers' clients include corporations, museums and private collectors. Committed to his trade, Nielsen served on the Professional Picture Framers Association's national board of directors, and chaired its committee that developed the national standards for mounting and framing works of art on paper. “During my seven years on the board, we established the Certified Professional Framer certification test,” Nielsen stated. “Thus, we now have an industry that is comprised of true professionals.”
Since the early 1960s, I have developed skills in art restoration and conservation, e.g., a partially cleaned oil painting highlights the contrast of the cleaned portion. See the restoration process at
