As in all construction, whether it be houses or art, starting with a firm foundation is essential to ensuring that your work will survive the test of time. Since 1967, John Annesley and his family have been handcrafting fine art supports, stretcher bars and art panels for many of the world's museums and influential artists. His stretcher bars and panels have been used by museums and restoration experts to retrofit cherished works by Picasso, Cezanne, Monet, Matisse and Van Gogh to name but a few.

Hand Crafted Stretcher Bars and Panels

At John Annesley Company we handcraft fine art supports -- traditional wood keyed stretcher bars, expansion bolt stretchers, cradled panels and strainers in a variety of styles. We have standard as well as custom sizes, inclusive of fractional and metric measurements.

Functional Art Supports

We use only the best materials available and incorporate carefully conceived design to provide strong, functional art supports and sell our stretcher bars as sets with bracing included. If the stretcher bars are small enough to ship to you assembled, we will. If not, we trial assemble each bar set to ensure perfect workmanship and fit, and then disassemble it for shipping. This way we can guarantee every stretcher bar set will be perfect.

The bodies of our stretchers, strainers and panels are made from clear, kiln-dried basswood, a very strong and durable hardwood. It is very stable as compared to other woods used in art support manufacture. Basswood is surprisingly light in weight and provides an excellent tacking edge for the stretching of fabric. It doesn't harden or become brittle with age, unlike many of the woods used for stretcher bars on the market today.

Our attention to detail shows by the way we craft each joint and incorporate well designed bracing. This assures that your work will be safe for the long-term and sit flat against any wall without any twisting, sagging or warping.

Our Art Supports are Beautiful

Our customers are constantly telling us that our art supports are beautiful--the best they have encountered. More than a few have expressed the urge to display our products as works of art in and of themselves. Our customers have found that using high quality materials makes their job easier and their results better, whether they are art conservators, or artists.

We also offer a line of fine European linens and cotton canvas hand stretched on our supports or by the yard. We offer discounts on the professional line of Golden acrylic paints and mediums and Gamblin oil paints and mediums. Our professional art supplies product line is rounded out with custom made floater frames and other framing, as well as our own line of canvas pliers. To see how we recommend you stretch your own canvas click here.

"I have found that one of the big benefits of my job is the opportunity to see how many artists work. There are many differences and many similarities". - John Annesley
There's some artist studio tours on our website that allow all artists to see how and where some artists create their work."

Professional Art Supplies

"If you have special design needs, or questions, don't hesitate to contact me. I've been working with people on art related projects most of my life and have a very capable shop and staff. And if I can't help you, I know someone who can, and will gladly refer you. We're here, call or e-mail us." - John Annesley

John Says...- - - -

"As a painter myself, I've learned that as artists we all have similar issues and problems and by being able to talk with artists and art professionals on a daily basis for the past thirty-plus years, I've been able to find solutions to a great many problems facing painters, conservators, and other art professionals. I've learned a lot from my customers--they've helped design all of my products. That's why I'm able to make what are arguably the world's finest art supports. These aren't boilerplate designs, they're finely crafted and honed to meet the most demanding needs of the finest conservators and painters in the world: YOU." - John Annesley

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