East River Harbor, 1913, oil on canvas, 20" x 24-1/8" framed by Gill & Lagodich for the Mint Museums, North Carolina. First-half 20th century American artist-made painting frame; Max Kuehne, maker. Cassetta profile with incised decoration, patinated white gold with matte gilded panel. Molding width: 4-1/2” “Max Kuehne’s painting offers an unusual bird’s eye view of New York, looking from the dockyards of Brooklyn to the lower tip of Manhattan. Although not a part of Robert Henri’s inner circle, Kuehne was a student of his for a brief time and was clearly influenced by Henri’s belief that artists should seek their subject matter in their everyday surroundings. Kuehne often made frames for himself and for his friends. He preferred the cassetta (Italian for “box”) profile, whose flat planes he skillfully toned and incised with geometric and floral decorations, as seen in the frame surrounding East River Harbor."—Mint Museum label. Painting Gift of Roy Arnold 1996.60.1