Gary Taylor Fine Art & Framing

Another fantastic framing job: we had a huge portrait of our daughter framed recently. Gary did an exceptional job framing it and went above and beyond to get it back to us in time for a big family event. Its truly magnificent! Thank you Gary!

Gary’s work is great. He uses only top quality frames and mats. In addition, he got great taste and dry humor.

I gave Gary a $ 1600 framing job in December (three months ago) and paid for half. It’s a big piece and part of the deal was that he would deliver it. It took him 2 months to get the framing done and now almost a month more and still no delivery. He doesn’t return my phone calls and has broken every promised delivery date he has given me. The only upside is that I have seen a photo of the finished product and it looks great, but absolutely not worth the aggravation.

I went to try and get a small postcard framed, so that it could be seen on both sides. I asked if it could be done by Christmas. He said it couldn’t, but soon thereafter. He said he had placed a call to a company who could provide the service. I went to the store personally five times to see how we could get this done. Each time he told me he had called and was waiting on an order, but seemed uninterested in the job and dismissive of my requests each time. By mid-​January, I called and asked what the status was. He told me he had yet to call the company for the framing, because it was closed until the new year. I told him that it was now 15 days later.
At that point he told me he had no interest in talking to me today and didn’t want to do the job. He then hung up on me.
He’s rude, unprofessional, unreliable and deceptive. His attitude is that he can pick and choose whichever customer he cares about. I was civil and polite throughout, but his hostile attitude was clear from the start. It took over a month and five personal visits for him to tell me that «I don’t feel like talking to you today» and hang up.
That’s the service you can get from this business

High-​end framing and worth it. My only disappointed was that it took several weeks longer than estimated. In the 3 times I went to pick up the piece, was told some excuses related to changing his business location. I thought the reasons were valid, however still felt I should have been given some financial compensation. Gary did not agree.

Gary has done wonderful work for me and a couple of my friends over the past few years! I went to the shop to have another piece of artwork framed last week and to my surprise was informed he is relocating to 1785 Columbia Rd. After 35 years in the same location I was quite surprised that he was moving but the new location will actually be more convenient and more accessible to most. Gary informed me he wont be open in the new location for another 4 – 6 weeks. With everything involved in a move like that he still gave me his 100% professional attention and amazing recommendations! Excited to visit him in the new Spot!

As an artist, I can attest to Gary’s brilliant ability to add dimension and value to an artwork. He also is a master at repair: while loading paintings into my car, I accidentally ran over one. The frame broke, the canvas ripped apart, tire tracks literally graced its back. Miraculously, Gary repaired it. He suggested a framing option that was better than any I would have requested and the piece turned out perfectly.

Service is exceptional! Gary went out of his way to help me get the proper mats for my pieces. Professional and fast work. My pieces look amazing and I’m super happy with them. I would absolutely come back for all my framing needs.

I dropped off about a dozen pieces –they’ve been collecting dust. Gary is amazing. Seriously, what a talent. Absolutely no complaints.

Gary does beautiful work and I have found that even when I go in with an idea of what kind of frame and matting I’d like, it’s good to listen to his suggestions, as I usually prefer them. He is pricey, as others have mentioned, but his work is beautiful. And Gary is a friendly person to interact with.
I have a huge poster that i pulled of a Roman wall when studying abroad in college. It’s of Nelson Mandela’s face, commemorating his release from jail. I’d carried it around rolled up for years, and it had gotten kind of fragile. Last year for my birthday my mom splurged and had it framed for me. Gary framed it perfectly, and brought it over and hung it. It’s now a gorgeous piece of art with amazing history hanging on our wall.

We live around the corner from Gary, and we have taken many items to him to have them framed. He is expensive, but you get what you pay for.
If you are looking for advice, I would tell you Gary is who you would take something to that you value and intend to keep for year. It will look great for years, and it will be done properly with quality materials. But you will pay a fair price for the product he produces. If you have something that you don’t care so much about, or if you are just framing something to fill wall space, there are cheaper places to have the work done.
In sum, framing your child’s college degree? Gary’s shop. Framing a menu you bought on Ebay because it reminds you of weekends at the beach? Elsewhere.

Gary is the best. I’ve been using him for 25+ years without any complaints. How many retail services can you say that about? He’s from the old school of craftsmen: take your time, do it right, make sure your customer is happy with the result. They don’t get any better.

Gary framed a poster for me beautifully – he is nice, knows his stuff, and presents a great product. The final result was beautiful, just expensive! I definitely recommend him, and will be going back to him for other framing jobs.

My husband and I recently brought in two pieces of artwork that hold sentimental value for us. We had done our research prior to going in to see Gary, so we were expecting the amount of work and the corresponding price tag. The product turned out great — really thorough work. However, my main concern is the low level of professionalism exhibited by Gary during our engagement.
Keeping in mind that Gary’s is a small business, I believe it is reasonable to ask that he be open and communicative about the length of time it will take to deliver a product. Gary quoted us a time frame of 2 – 3 weeks; we received the frames after 6 weeks. When my husband asked Gary for some kind of compensation or explanation for the extended time frame, the only response he received was — «If you really wanted the frames, you would have called.» Again, I don’t think it unreasonable to expect a business — small or otherwise– to be professional in setting proper expectations for the work to be done.

I needed a mat cut and Gary did it for me, on the spot, for free. Then we had a conversation about running a small business. That’s the kind of personal touch you don’t find much anymore. I will definitely be returning here and recommending Gary to others.

Gary did an EXCELLENT job of framing a large piece for me … he also did a great job of hanging it up exactly where I wanted it in my house. He’s a good communicator, fantastically nice guy, a man of his word and an expert. I would do business with Gary again any time!

You can’t do better than Gary Taylor. He has now done 5 framings for me including creating a custom mirror, I have a 6^th on the way, another custom mirror. He has a vast selection of frames and knows his stock. It’s always a good experience, Gary is patient and friendly and cares. The cost shows up on Unilocal as $$$$ but I think for what you get it’s more like $$ and a half.
I recommend him to all.
JMB
Washington, DC

Gary Taylor’s IS as «good as it gets!» When living in Adams Morgan, Gary framed several oils for us. It goes without saying he has an eye for framing, just look at the plethora of gorgeous choices carried in his shop. His taste, cultivated over 35 years in the business, always and above all compliments the art. I take his advise realizing his expertise will produce a much more artful final product. Framing is always expensive and Gary’s quotes were, in general, no more expensive than local competitors.
For those who’ve felt Gary a pressured salesperson or unfriendly, my experience has never been this. And for those who feel his prices are too high, I have found them competitive especially for the quality of work and plethora of beautiful frame choices.
Recently Gary took several large paintings off their stretched frames in order for them to be transported on the plane. It was done in less than a day, rolled carefully in protective paper to which he added a more substantial protective box. All paintings, of significant value, arrived in perfect shape.
This is a business run by a lovely, honest, reliable person with talent for his profession. I can’t say much more, other than for me, there is no reason looking for anyone else. Gary’s prices beat 3 other competitors by a football field. And everything about expert framing is found at this address.

I have had Gary do a variety of frames over the years, for art, photos and posters. He gives good advice, gets the done well and on time, and his prices are reasonable. You can get a very fancy frame or a relatively cheap one, but short of just buying a pre-​fab frame or going to a «frame-​it-​yourself» operation, not sure what more one could ask.

This three starts is difficult and I’ll tell you why:
1. Gary is great. He knows his products and has a great eye for what will make whatever it is you are framing look amazing.
2. Gary is the greatest salesperson of all time and by the time he is done selling you, you will be amazed that a few frames are going to cost several grand.
A previous reviewer made a comment about how there is a wait since he is the only one there. He never rushes through because there is a line, but it makes it EXTREMELY difficult to talk price when there are 5 people waiting to be helped and you want to express your amazement that a simple frame costs $ 500. You’re shamed when you leave without purchasing anything OR you are shamed into buying.
I’m of the belief that this industry has VERY high margins and Mr. Gary makes a fine living taking advantage of the fact that most of us know NOTHING about frames and the costs.
Then again, he’s good and everything you get from him will make you smile, but JESUS F-​ing CHRIST…

I has this really cool 20×20 Ork poster (
) that I need to have framed.
I went to this frame store to check it out. I didn’t expect to feel insecure. But, when I entered, I got a strange look from the guy (like I was interrupting. I waited and when I received the «go» proceeded to ask the dude «Do you only do custom frames?» and he (and a family he was working with) kind of looked at me like I was a peasant. Then he asked if what I wanted to frame was a poster. And, I said it was a lithograph and then he suggested something «on the low end,» instead of giving me a range like I asked. I showered that morning and I think I used proper English, so not sure why he talked to me that way. Probably because I look so youthful!