18 Inch Classic A1 Stretcher Bar 3/4" Deep #A1-18

Classic™ 3/4" Deep Bar • 1/16" Canvas Clearance

This Stretcher Bar is the standard in the industry for Stretched Canvases and works with standard picture frames. It provides 1/16" Canvas Clearance on both sides, you can stretch either side of the Bar.

• Produces a 3/4" deep stretched canvas (Actual depth is 11/16")
• 1-5/8" wide Stretcher Bar
• Precision machined corners
• Solid Ponderosa Pine or Fir from the Pacific Northwest
• The ends are mirror images of each other, so they naturally fit together; no other parts are needed
• Corner Keys may be purchased separately to expand the frame, only if needed to increase the tension after the canvas has been stretched

Finger Jointed Wood is not meant for Stretcher Bars

Solid wood makes the most dependable Stretcher Bar, because one homogeneous wood member is going to behave similarly across the entire length of the Bar. Whereas, with finger-jointed wood is made-up of multiple pieces of wood, sometimes on the actual joint itself, presenting multiple points of failure which no one can control.

We only use Solid Wood to build our Stretcher Bars because a solid piece of wood will last indefinitely. When we speak of archival value, it's not just the paint you use and the quality of your canvas and ground, even the wood choices manufacturers add or reduce value to your final painting. The fact is, you don't want problems, and finger joints only increase that risk of the wood falling apart in the future.

The glue used to bind finger joints is a water based adhesive and when that wood is exposed to high humidity environments, particularly with exterior walls, the glue joints can give-up. As a manufacturer, Masterpiece® does its part to conserve as much wood as possible, and still provide a quality product that will out-perform any other in the marketplace.

Biodiversity in our Forests is the Key to Life as we know it

By using lumber from sustainably managed forests in our products, we can ensure that the forests will continue to thrive and provide valuable resources for years to come. Sustainable forestry practices help to maintain the health and biodiversity of the forest, which benefits not only the environment, but also the local communities and businesses that rely on the forest for their livelihoods.

Canvas Size Needed for this Stretcher Bar

Most artists will stretch the canvas and attach the staples or tacks onto the back side of the frame. Doing so allows you to paint on the edge and hang your art without needed a picture frame. Generally speaking, you should allow 4 Inches of canvas beyond the size of your frame.

For example, if you were to stretch a 18x108 frame size, which happens to be a 6:1 Super Extreme Rectangle aspect ratio size, your canvas should be about 4 x 22. This allows you ample room to stretch and attach the canvas on the back. Should you ever need to remove the canvas from the frame and re-attach it, it still serves that purpose too. Should you want to attach the canvas from the edge of the stretcher frame, then you can reduce the size of your canvas about 3/4" all the way around the frame.

Masterpiece® is a family-owned business operating in California since 1965 and producing the finest Stretcher Bars in North America. We deliver the highest quality and highest performing products in the business. We are widely recognized as the nation's leader and trendsetter of professional quality fine-art canvas. We own several patents that make our products perform superior to any other on the market. Once you touch one of our products, you'll immediately recognize our impeccable quality—and more importantly, so will your clients and those who acquire your art

Art in relation to life is nothing more than a glove turned inside out. It seems to have the same shapes and contours, but it can never be used for the same purpose. ♦ Albrecht Dürer

Albrecht Dürer, a linchpin in the Northern Renaissance movement, was not just a painter but a theorist, mathematician, and master printmaker. His multifaceted genius was deeply rooted in his observations of the world around him and his meticulous study of nature and anatomy. Through his works and writings, Dürer gave us a lens to appreciate the symbiotic relationship between art and life. His analogy of the inside-out glove is a poetic testament to this intricate connection.

When we consider the glove metaphor, it hints at the transformative power of art. While life presents reality in its raw form, art takes this reality, inverts it, and presents a new perspective. It may mirror life's structures, patterns, and emotions, but its purpose diverges. Art invites reflection, challenges perceptions, and often elicits feelings that raw reality may not. For artists, our creations become a parallel universe, bearing resemblance to life but serving a distinct purpose: to provoke, to question, and to enchant. In our hands, the ordinary experiences of life, when turned and twisted, become profound statements about existence itself.

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We've curated this inspirational quote and our take on the message, plus a unique portrait we created of Albrecht Dürer, celebrating the timeless ever-evolving act of creation. Go create your own masterpiece!

Tight'n'Up™ Liquid Canvas Retensioner

One of our most celebrated products helps make your canvas tighter! Assembling Stretcher Bars and Stretching your own canvas can present some challenges. While your canvas may seem tightly stretched, the tension may vary from staple to staple creating lines of tension across the canvas in a grid like pattern. The trick is to maintain balanced tension across the canvas.

Tight'n'Up™ Liquid Canvas Re-Tensioner is a great way to redistribute the tension in a canvas across that grid-like pattern of tension as well as increase the tension on the entire canvas. While you can can add tension by keying-out the corners of the frame, it may produce an hour-glass effect by expanding the frame in the corners, and not the center.

With Tight'n'Up™, you can add tension to just a small area, or a large area. Simply spray it lightly on the back and brush it into the canvas, and within seconds, your canvas becomes tighter and stays tighter. The more you use, the tighter it gets. Recommended for acrylic primed cotton or linen canvas. We do not recommend it for oil primed canvas because there are simply too many different types of oil primed canvas, but used conservatively at your own risk, it will tension any canvas.