16x20 Vincent Pro Monterey Canvas 7/8 Inch Deep #VM-1620

True 5:4 Photography Proportion - 16x20 Size

The 16x20 size is generally considered the most popular size in art. It doesn't take a lot of wall space, but it provides enough space on the canvas to create detail and made a statement without being too overpowering.

The 5:4 aspect ratio is common to both art and portrait photography, as it creates a visually pleasing format for the human figure and face. The balanced compositional format can help to create a sense of symmetry and harmony in your artwork. The 5:4 ratio has a familiar "feel", as it was commonly used in early computer monitors. Additionally, you might consider trying some relatively unknown sizes in this same proportion that we call Lost Sizes As an artist, you get the best of both worlds, because you still get to use the same aesthetically appealing 5:4 format and use rare or novel sizes that help make your art stand-out.

Explore other sizes in this same 5:4 aspect ratio:

4x5 • 8x10 • 12x15 • 20x25 • 24x30 • 28x35 • 32x40 • 36x45 • 40x50 • 48x60

Explore Related Products to this 16x20 Size:

• Acrylic Primed Cotton: Carmel™ • Tahoe™ • Sausalito™ • Sierra™
• Acrylic Primed Linen: Muir™ • Vintage L22U™ • Santa Cruz™ • Saint-Cloud™ • Grenoble™ • Pau™
• Alkyd Oil Primed Linen: Malibu™ • Ventura™
• Oil Primed Linen: Vintage L21C™ • Versailles™ • Poitiers™
• Hardcore Canvas Panel: Monterey™
• Monet™ Pro 1.5 • 3D™ Pro 2.5 • 3D™ Pro 3.5

Monterey™ 7oz Acrylic Primed Cotton

An all-around great canvas, extraordinary value, and our top selling canvas surface across all our products. It is our premium quality all-purpose canvas suitable for most all techniques.

• 100% Cotton 7 oz.; Primed Weight 10.5 oz. per square yard
• Medium Weight, Medium Weave, Medium Texture
• Sized and Double Primed with acid-free archival quality acrylic gesso
• Impenetrable ground prevents oil paint from leaching through and harming the canvas
• For acrylics, oils, alkyds, and water miscible oil paints

Vegan Ground:

There are no animal products that make-up the sizing and the primer for this fine canvas. Historically, traditional canvas grounds have included egg tempura, pigments with cow urine, and of course, rabbit skin glue. In today's rapidly advancing world, there are many more choices available for artists who prefer non-animal based products that perform far better than their animal-based predecessors.

Titanium Dioxide (TiO₂) Primer Pigment

This primer contains premium-grade Titanium Dioxide (TiO₂) white pigment, renowned for its exceptional performance in acrylic priming. Its standout feature is its enduring whiteness, coupled with remarkable flexibility that persists over time. In contrast to other pigments such as zinc dioxide, Titanium Dioxide maintains its resilience, preventing brittleness as it ages. This quality ensures that artworks retain their integrity and will stand the test of time.

Vincent™ Pro 7/8" Deep Bar • 5/16" Canvas Clearance

5/16" Canvas Clearance is the space between the Bar and the canvas. Generally speaking, more clearance reduces the risk of the canvas touching the wood and creating unsightly lines during painting. Our design provides the optimal clearance so as not to impact your painting, but still leaving enough wood to the maximize strength of the Stretched Canvas Frame.

• Stretcher Bar Profile produces a 7/8" deep stretched canvas
• 1.5" wide Stretcher Bar
• Frames with a dimension of 16" and up have a groove machined in the center inside perimeter to which cross braces attach
• Solid Ponderosa Pine or Fir from the Pacific Northwest

No Finger Joints!

Solid Wood is far superior to finger jointed wood, which is many small pieces glued together, each with varying grain densities that absorb and shed moisture at varying rates, expanding and contracting non-uniformly as environmental conditions change, and causing the wood to bow and the finger joints to eventually fail.

A single homogeneous kiln-dried solid wood Stretcher Bar outperforms and outlasts a finger jointed Bar whose sole purpose is to save the manufacturer cost, not contribute to the archival value of artwork intended to last a millennium. 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.

16x20 Vincent Pro Keyable Cross Braced Frame

• Photo displays the exact frame construction, not the proportion
• Precision machined medium duty keyable tongue-and-groove Stretcher Bars
• Two 1/2" thick keyable cross braces (1.5" wide) provide excellent frame support for this 16x20 size - Cross braces may be removed and reinserted at any time
• An exclusive slot is milled on the inside perimeter of all of the Stretcher Bars to which the Braces and the expansion wedges attach
• Patented keyable cross braces allow the frame to be tensioned in the middle of the canvas, where the tension needed the most
• Cross braces firmly attached with hardware at the intersection point for maximum support and rigidity

What's so important about keyable canvas frames?

In dry and air conditioned environments, wood can shrink and canvas fibers elongate, thereby making the canvas looser to the point where you might see waves in the canvas. Keyability is an important feature that professionals cherish because it makes it possible to increase canvas tension without having to re-stretch it. There is a risk to re-stretching a canvas as it could apply undue stress on the paint across the surface which could accelerate cracking of the paint, particularly with oil paintings.

With Masterpiece's patented framing systems, you can tap the keys into the corners as well as the ends of the braces, which expands the canvas more equally across the entire surface. The difference between a loose or tight canvas is just 1/8", so even small adjustments with corner and brace keys can improve a stretched canvas.

To increase canvas tension:

1. Remove any staples in the corners above and below the canvas
2. Remove any staples that restrict the keys in the corners and braces
3. Tap all the expansion keys further into their respective slots until desired tension has been achieved
4. Using canvas pliers, tighten the canvas in the corners and staple
5. Canvas tension will be restored

Canvas Tension is in Your Control

In dry climates or air conditioned environments, the lack of moisture in the air causes wood frames to shrink and the canvas fibers to narrow and elongate making the canvas more slack and resulting in a loss of canvas tension. In some instances, the canvas could have waves on the surface resulting in an unsightly viewing experience.

Our Vincent™ Pro professional frames provide the functionality for you to slightly expand the size of the frame in the corners and the middle of the canvas, thereby increasing canvas tension all across the surface. The difference between a loose canvas and a tight canvas is just 1/8", so a small adjustment using our corner and brace keys makes an important difference in canvas tension.

• Helps to prevent waves that occur in a loose canvas
• Increase canvas tension by tapping-in the corner and brace keys
• True professional class canvases make it possible for you to adjust the canvas tension

Cross Braces Make it Tighter

A tightly stretched canvas on an un-braced frame overpowers the Stretcher Bars causing them to bow inward and thereby lose tension. Sometimes that bow can expose a space in picture frames.

When a canvas is stretched on a properly supported frame, the cross-braces prevent the Bars from bowing thereby achieving maximum canvas tension. To increase the canvas tension even more, simply tap the corner and brace keys further in their slots. Properly supported frames provide you with the control over the canvas tension of your canvas and painting.

Sustainability is about Reducing Deforestation

Choosing products made with sustainably sourced lumber is an important way for consumers to make a positive impact on the environment. By supporting sustainable forestry practices, we can help to reduce deforestation, promote biodiversity, and mitigate climate change. It's a simple and effective way to make a difference.

MuseumWrap™ Stretching Technique

With more than 60 years of American engineering, Masterpiece® designs and builds its own proprietary stretching equipment that enables us to produce the finest and most tightly-stretched canvas on the market.

• Drum-tight stretch!
• Up to 50% tighter than other methods
• Balanced tension across the surface
• Uncut folded corners make it possible to remove and re-stretch canvas on the same size frame
• Usually the corner folds are on the long sides

Since 1965, our passion for perfection has driven us at Masterpiece® to construct professional quality canvases that artists around the nation desire. Your art is better and more valuable when the materials you use are complementary to the blood, sweat, and passion you will paint on top.

I cannot speak of Diego as my husband because that term, when applied to him, is an absurdity. He never has been, nor will he ever be, anybody's husband. I also cannot speak of him as my lover because to me, he transcends by far the domain of sex. And if I attempt to speak of him purely, as a soul, I shall only end up by painting my own emotions. ♦ Frida Kahlo

The iconic Mexican painter known for her bold and surreal self-portraits, Frida Kahlo shared a complex relationship with the renowned artist Diego Rivera. Their bond, tumultuous yet intensely passionate, defied conventions and often blurred the lines of love, camaraderie, and artistic collaboration. Kahlo's reflections on Diego speak to the depths of human connections that can't be encapsulated by societal labels. In the realm of art, where emotions are laid bare on canvas, Frida's words evoke the challenge of capturing the essence of another while still staying true to oneself.

For many artists, the canvas becomes a mirror, reflecting their innermost feelings and vulnerabilities. It's a delicate dance, to draw inspiration from others without losing oneself in the process. Just as Frida grappled with defining her relationship with Diego in words, artists often find it challenging to translate the intricacies of human relationships into visual representations. Yet, in that challenge lies the beauty of art. The act of creating allows us to delve deep into our emotions, questioning, exploring, and ultimately expressing what words often cannot. Through our creations, we not only share a part of our soul with the world but also embark on a path of introspection and self-discovery.

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As we honor the legacy of Frida Kahlo, we've created our own portrait as well as pass along these words of wisdom and our take on the message. Get to work on yours!

Tight'n'Up™ Liquid Canvas Retensioner

While all of our Masterpiece® Pro canvases are stretched very tightly and our frames have a built-in method to increase tension, we have another method to add canvas tension. Tight'n'Up™ Liquid Canvas Retensioner (sold separately) can be sprayed on the back of a canvas to repair most canvas tension issues.

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.