Bernard 'Ben' Badura lived and worked in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, a community filled with artists because of its natural beauty and proximity to the major art markets of Philadelphia and New York. Badura studied art at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and was awarded several honors while there, including the Cresson European Traveling Scholarship in 1924. This scholarship took him to Paris where he met with a gilder for the first time and became intrigued with this obscure, yet time-honored craft. This chance meeting was to have a profound influence on the rest of his life.

Badura began to learn the techniques of frame making from another Bucks County artist, Frederick Harer. Badura, known as Ben, lived and worked with Ha...