The Frame Shoppe in Princeton Celebrates 52 Years in the Business

David Rosendorf has spent the last half-century using his artist’s eye to put art on display in the finest possible settings as the proud owner of on Spring Street.

The art of framing is something Rosendorf grew up knowing about, since his parents ran a photography studio called Clearose on Nassau Street for the better part of 40 years, and he ran their small framing department.

“After school and in the summer I would work for them,” Rosendorf said. “My father wanted me to take over his business, but I was not interested in photography. I didn’t even know which end of the camera to point, but I always loved framing and putting pictures in their best light.”

In his first real job after school, he worked for an ad agency in Manhattan. He was in the print production department, doing the specifications for print ads.

“After only about a year working there, one day I discovered that my hand was shaking,” Rosendorf said. “It was the pressure of the job. I walked into the conference room to sit down and I had to grab my hand to stop it from shaking. It was scary. I decided that I wasn’t happy doing ad work, so I came back to Princeton to do what I wanted to do, what I loved, and that’s how I decided to open up a frame shop.”

Rosendorf opened his store in January 1960 on Witherspoon Street. He moved to his current Spring Street location 13 years ago.  

“When we first opened, we were very concerned with preserving what was bought in to be framed,” he said. “There were not many sound materials available with true archival quality. So we had to improvise. We had a very steep learning curve that goes on today, 52 years later.”

The business grew, as did the reputation of the store and its owner. Over the years, Rosendorf has worked with museums, galleries, artists and collectors in New York and Philadelphia and everywhere in between.

“Everything we do is up to the finest archival standards, and we are also carvers and gilders,” he said. “Framing can be very expensive. We work in real gold and that can be a challenge when the price of gold goes sky high like it did in the 1980s and from 2007 on. And yet, we have maintained a loyal customer base because of our quality and pricing.”

In his five decades of business, Rosendorf has framed some of the world’s finest paintings and art works, including originals by Matisse, Picasso, Renoir, Sargent, Klee, Chagall and Miro.  

He is a board certified member of the Professional Picture Framers Association. 

“As in most professional fields, continuing education is very important for us to keep up with industry changes,” Rosendorf said. “That’s why I go in for continuing education all the time, whether it’s seminars at the New School for Social Research in New York or art fairs or trade shows. You have to stay current and on top of all the latest trends and information.”

Teaching has also been an important part of Rosendorf’s career. He taught a course at the New School called, “What Every Print Collector Should Know” and at the same time taught an abbreviated edition of that course at the Princeton Adult School.

Rosendorf says Princeton has been good to him and his family. His wife, Lucille, now retired, taught at Riverside Elementary School for 44 years, and his daughter graduated from Princeton Day School. He appreciates the Princeton clientele for their education and culture, but it’s the convenience and exposure to the greater metropolitan area that has also been a boon for his business.

“We’ve built a fine reputation over five decades and people know us and the quality of the work we do,” Rosendorf said. “We are cognizant of costs and keep the costs as reasonable as possible, but our quality has never changed. Our quality has been and always will be top drawer.”  

Rosendorf says many customers and galleries give him carte blanche when they turn a piece over to him because they recognize his expertise.

“They know we have the knowledge and experience, but also the eye and the love for the work,” he said. “I collect art too, and I tend to be a perfectionist. I am well past the age of retirement but I’m not retired because I love what I am doing. When I leave here it’s going to be feet first; they’re going to have to carry me out.  I feel blessed to be doing something I love.”  

The Frame Shoppe is located at 6 Spring Street, Princeton, NJ 08542 

(609) 924-2300