Fifth Ave. Business Spotlight: Brooklyn Art & Frame Has Rich History

January 19, 2012 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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By M.K. McGarrity

Special to Brooklyn Eagle

Brooklyn Art & Frame, the venerable paint, art supply, and framing shop on Fifth Avenue, has been in business in various forms for more than a century and continues to reinvent itself.

The store, previously known as Hobro Paint Company of Bay Ridge, was the go-to spot in Brooklyn for Dutch Boy paints and a variety of wall coverings in the early and mid-20th century. In the 1980s, the framing business took off. Today, the shop retains paint, primarily for fine arts and crafts projects, and will order any supply a customer needs, but the framing business dominates.

Recently, a memorabilia enterprise opened within the shop; while under separate management, it does integrate into the art supply and framing aspects of Brooklyn Art & Frame nicely.

Store owner and manager David Kyvik grew up in the business with his father. Kyvik has reimagined and reconfigured the space for the 21st century. The old tin ceilings are now covered with modern tiles, but the classic elements of the original store remain. Kyvik has retained the core of the shop and his family’s critical connections in the community.

Kyvik’s reputation as a trustworthy merchant with an excellent critical eye for paint and framing is well known. Customers of long standing still come in for his recommendations on their projects. While the supplies they need are likely available outside the neighborhood, what separates Brooklyn Art & Frame from other shops is the discerning aesthetic judgment of the staff. This professional perspective is invaluable when trying to decide on frames, matting, or paint.

Kyvik can recommend brushes for certain projects, types of wood for specific frames and, of course, many variations of color. All work is handled in-house and customers often bring in unusual or valuable objects and images for framing.

Art classes (primarily painting — oil and water-color) are offered every Saturday for adults in a studio on the second floor. Brooklyn Art & Frame still stocks a full line of fine art supplies and is the only shop in Bay Ridge to do so.

As Kyvik notes, “You get a fair shake and a fair price at Brooklyn Art & Frame.”

Brooklyn Art & Frame is located at 7709 Fifth Ave. For more information, call (718) 745-7734. The shop is open six days a week: Monday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The business is closed on Sunday.