African American Art Gallery

I had some basic photos and paintings Framed. He did a great job, the matting looked great. Reasonable prices compared to other places I have been. I would totally recommend this place and plan on bringing a few more things back to be framed.

We were blown away by our framing experience. My boyfriend has an original piece of art from India and we visited African American Art Gallery to inquire about conservation options.
An older gentleman was sitting/​nearly sleeping behind the counter. We indicated our primary, specific concerns — to protect and preserve this piece of art with acid-​free materials and appropriate mounting.
After a moment, he instructed us to choose a frame.
Unsure if he heard our concerns of conservation, we asked what materials were available for art/​photo conservation.
Again, he told us to choose a frame. He said they do the rest.
His frame selection was NOTHING to brag about, but more importantly, his professionalism was horrendous. We questioned if this business even had the skills/​supplies to provide conservation framing services, but frankly, at that point, we didn’t care. Maybe they did, but we walked out, disgusted by the absence of basic communication skills and customer service. There was NO chance we were going to trust this business with our highly cherished, valuable piece of art.
I do not like giving 1-​star reviews, but I do not want others to have the same experience as Rachel D. previously detailed. We nearly escaped.

I went to frame a very special piece of art and they did a great job. Job was completed the next business day– incredible. Simple white wood frame with matte 20×24 at $ 75 which I found incredibly reasonable. Very polite worker up front. Will go to again for framing needs.

I am a part-​time painter & photographer and always need my art framed (for both shows & gifts). When I first started pricing around I was shocked at how expensive framing can be. At that time the only remotely affordable prices I could find were at Pearl Paint’s Frame Store, which is now closed. Even framing places in Brooklyn were/​still are ridiculously priced!
Several years ago, while walking on a side street in downtown Manhattan, I accidentally stumbled upon this place. Since then I have never gone anywhere else. To have a piece matted & framed it only takes an hour or less.
The person I always deal with is, Ali. He is the nicest person ever. Very soft spoken & patient, he will take his time discussing frame & mat option with you. The prices are fairly decent but if he ever quotes a price way out of your comfort zone, discuss it with him before walking away. For the most part he is flexible and can possibly figure out something that works for both of you.
The quality of the work is good. I have never had a problem with anything I had framed there. I have also taken paintings that I purchased elsewhere to be re-​stretched and framed there. They did a great job, I was always pleased. They also have a decent selection of frames (could be more but it’s enough) and can frame just about anything from textiles to 3-​D art.
Aside from their framing they also have a big selection of African Art. Some of the pieces are reproductions and some are one-​of-​a-​kinds signed by the artists. Everything is beautifully framed. The prices are for these are also reasonable. Plus, they are always getting new pieces in. There are also landscape paintings.
In short, if you are looking for a good spot to buy African American Art or need some custom framing this is a great place to check out.

My review is also related to a framing experience…
In short, if you value your art at all, do NOT bring it here.
I have a large canvas wall hanging (3′ x 5′) that I bought in Senegal. It’s a very special piece to me that represents my time there, so I wanted to mount it on a stretcher (that’s when they wrap the art around a wooden frame). I carefully explained that I wanted to maximize the surface area shown (i.e. wrap the minimum amount) and that I specifically wanted the brown border showing on the front (since I just moved to a new apartment and based my colors off of this piece). When I went to pick up, I was completely confused. The entire brown border and some of the actual painting was wrapped over and around to the back of the frame. NO brown border was showing. Not only that, but they stapled everything and put screws in the back THROUGH the artwork. There was over 4 inches of excess material, so there was no reason to have wrapped it that way. I explained that this wasn’t what we had discussed, and he agreed but said it was «easier this way» and that «he knows what the artist intended.» I asked if I could please have it how I ordered it despite the fact that there would now be holes on the front through the artwork because of where they placed the staples and screws. He agreed and told me to come back the next day. When I returned, I could not believe my eyes. I am not a drama queen or a complainer, but I couldn’t help the tears that came when I saw my piece. They had removed it from the wooden frame using a screwdriver to pry off the staples. In the process, they scraped the paint off the artwork around all of the holes. In addition, there was a huge tear (that was not there when I had dropped it off) that had been hidden by the way they had framed it. (Now I know why the 4″ were wrapped.) He said he couldn’t reframe it on a stretcher and started offering other more expensive options. I asked to just take it back, and he gave it to me after arguing that an expensive frame would be so much better. I then asked for my card to be refunded and he pointed to a «no refund policy.» I had to actually argue for a refund for my unframed, newly tattered artwork. He then accused me of only caring about money and said I owed him an apology for wasting his time. I have never had such a horrible customer experience.
My piece is unsalvageable. The art probably didn’t have much $$ value before (and it certainly doesn’t have any now), but the sentimental value was priceless to me.

Actually they are at 105 Nassau Street now. There’s plenty of art at good prices here, what we needed were frames. They framed and matted some additional awards/​certificates for us, last minute. They really came through for us, so props for that. The frames were just regular ones, but still done with professionalism, and really stood out. We’ll use them again, I might even use them on my own time for some photos I’d like to put around here.