Picture Us Galleries

SEE PICTURES ATTACHED. FROM NEGLIGENCE, THEY DAMAGED OUR FINE ART ORIGINAL PAINTING VALUED AT $ 20,000 AND A PRINT FROM THE SAME ARTIST WHICH WAS OUR WEDDING GIFT. THEY DON’T KNOW HOW TO HANDLE FINE ART. DESPITE THAT WE DOCUMENTED THE DAMAGES WITH PHOTOS, THEIR OWN INTAKE INVOICES, AND LETTERS FROM THE RE-​FRAMER, CORPORATE REFUSES TO ADMIT FAULT, APOLOGIZE, OR COMPENSATE
While only one location damaged our valuable artwork, the corporate office representing all locations refuses to take responsibility and states that each location has the same framing practices. This framing company misrepresents their expertise, lies to your face, is negligent and ignorant about common framing practices at a corporate level. When they damage your art they offer no apologies and call you a liar.
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My wife and I took our valuable original painting from one of Italy’s most celebrated contemporary artists in for mounting and framing, along with two other mounted paintings and a signed print of his just for framing.
The manager made overtures of their long experience with fine art.
We paid in full, documenting the conditions of the pieces on the intake invoices, and they assured us they could mount the most valuable piece by using nails through the canvas’s original nail holes as the artist had requested, scoffing that it would be a problem
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A week after it was due, they called and said they didn’t have a nail gun big enough for nailing the canvas to the stretcher the way the artist had instructed, and so they needed to use STAPLES. We reminded them: if you don’t have a nail gun, do it by hand! But they said they were not capable. When my wife and friend went in to show them how to stretch it, they found the framer not even using gloves to handle the art! Also when my wife, who is from Italy, asked why the stretcher bars didn’t have keys on them for additional stretching after the mounting, the manager said «we don’t use keys in America» Absurd: if you go to any art store you’ll see stretcher keys on the back every stretcher bar.
Damages (see pictures):
We were shocked when we opened the wrapped frames at home:
ON THE CANVAS
–framing putty for joining frame corners
–three dents where it had been poked
–dirt marks from hands
It looked so bad, we took it to FLAX Framing to see if they could fix the damages.
Underneath we found:
–paint had been scraped off the canvas 360 degrees where the frame had gone on because they had not used industry standard protective tape between the frame and the painting. This revealed under layers of paint which were not visible before. Irreversible
–Another kind of protective tape had not been used between the inside stretcher wood and the canvas to prevent long term chemical damage form the wood.
–The stretcher bars were cheap and would warp over time
–The nails were made of material which would eventually corrode and damage the painting
–Without the built-​in keys to stretch the canvas periodically after mounting (the ones she said don’t exist in America), it was not even a real stretcher bar FLAX said– it would flex and lose tautness soon. And they showed it was wrong to use a frame which was shallower than the stretcher itself.
From FLAX on the print:
«The print was not hinged to any board, thereby causing it to ripple and move around. As a result, the very top edge had gotten pinched in between the spacers and the backing board. It left a bit of a deformity in the top edge of the artwork.»
PUGs are not certified framers, FLAX said, and had demonstrated a complete ignorance of framing fine art, industry framing standards, and basic care.
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So with photos of the damage and a detailed letter from FLAX, we wrote the corporate office of PUGs. Our letter was firm yet polite, we expected them to make this right.
The official corporate representative called. She was combative, called us liars, and denied everything — before even looking at the pictures. After we insisted she look, she refunded only the services we had to have redone by FLAX, but that was it– no apology or compensation for the damages!
In fact, she said we could be lying about the damages, that they could have been from a previous frame job! But they had never before been framed, just transported in a tube, and the intake invoices mention no damage!
She was illogical and self-​contradictory: the framing putty «wasn’t theirs,» then admitted they use it in the inside corners of the frame so «it couldn’t have gone all around the borders of the canvas.» But the photographs showed the framing putty was actually smeared in the exact corners where she just admitted they use it, and the borders damage was scraped off paint from the frame. «That doesn’t matter,» they simply «couldn’t be responsible.»
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While peripheral, the damages total about $ 6,000 between the painting and the print.
Go to FLAX their prices trump PUGs’ even after PUGs’ Unilocal coupon.

I picked up my framed print from here yesterday. The work was done in two weeks, as promised. The location can’t be beat, as it is just steps from where I live, meaning fewer chances of a misadventure in transport of the artwork. The store manager helped me pick a complementary mat and frame, and made sure to measure the picture so that the name of the work and artist were not obscured by the mat/​frame. I felt the pricing was reasonable and that the store is capable of working with various budgets. There is also artwork-​framed and unframed prints– available for purchase. I hope this location continues to survive, and thrive, in the fast-​food hustle and bustle of the Pedway as it definitely fills a need for anyone living and working nearby who needs to have their art framed.

Great experience! Really helpful, worked with my budget, and helped me carry my frames all the way outside to a cab. Great service, and good price. Thanks! I wish I could remember the girl who helped me but she was super! Make sure to keep her on! (Girl late 20s/​early 30s)

I’m having a hard time believing what people are saying about the service. It took them 35 minutes to fail to sell me anything!
I went in to pick up some ready-​made frames for some standard-​sized pieces I had. They’ve got a decent selection and I picked out a few from the display and Morgan, the person on duty, went back for about five minutes and checked on the availability of two of them. Then she said it would take about 20 minutes to get the other boxed ones from the back since she was alone there and it wasn’t «very organized.» I had a spare 20 minutes and something to read, so I said sure. Fifteen minutes ticked by.
Then a woman came in, apparently a regular customer, saying that she’d gotten a call that her work was ready. The manager had only left Morgan with instructions to call the customer, not what to tell her, and it looked like only one of her pieces was actually ready.
Another ten minutes ticked by and another person came in with some art to be framed. Rather than continuing to work with me, Morgan asked me to come back in another 20 minutes when the manager would be there and could help.
By this time, she had exactly two of the frames ready.
My recommendation is, if you want to shop here, call ahead and ask how many people there are in the shop. If the answer is less than two, save your time.

I had a few items framed here for my office and they all turned out great — so when I saw they had a Unilocal deal I jumped on it and had some things framed for myself. They are always friendly and willing to show you as many different options and you’re interested and will work with your budget. Everything I’ve taken here and turned out even better than my expectations, I’m sure I’ll be back again.

I really appreciated the great job they did at Picture Us Galleries. They helped me work with the idea I had come up with for a custom job and it turned out great. Price was very reasonable for a custom framing, especially with the Unilocal offer. Will definitely be going back for any future work and already have an idea I want to put together. They also got the job done very quickly, maybe 3 days total. I went in kinda last minute and they still got it done before I really needed it. Highly recommended!

I’ve worked with a lot of framers and Picture Us Galleries is by far the best experience I’ve ever had. Not only are the prices incredibly good for framing but the service and end result is always top notch.
They do a really nice job of helping you pick a great frame/​mat that will work with your photo while considering your budget fairly and have a great turnaround time for delivering the finished product.
If you need something an affordable and professional framing job, I’d highly recommend Picture Us!

This place is obscenely expensive.
To be fair, most custom framing stores are. It’s the most overpaid job in the US.
Edit: actually real estate agents are more overpaid.

I have been going here to get things framed for the last two years after I kept walking by it heading to work and finally stopped in. The two girls that work there Jenny and Kim are as nice and professional as they get. Every time I bring something in (usually music memorabilia) they take their time with me making suggestions and treating it as if they were framing their own stuff. They have great ideas to make each piece custom and memorable and sometime the framing is as cool as what is being framed! To show their loyalty to their customers, yesterday as i was ready to pay they suggested that I went on Unilocal and bought the deal. I bought it right there in the store and it saved me $ 75 instantly! There is no better place to get things framed than here. I have given them many expensive things and have never worried about them when I leave them behind! This place and Kim and Jenny are great and if your framing anywhere else your a fool! Definitely the best framers you can find!

Absolutely great place! I just moved to Chicago and needed some 50 lbs hangers to hang up my favorite framed football jersey (my old ones were lost in the move). I walk by this place everyday to and from work… Last week I stopped in and told them my issue. They tole me they were out of 50 lb hangers, but suggested other products. To tide me over, they gave me four 20 lb. hangers FREE of charge — which ended up working for me.
I was stunned by their generosity and customer service — for someone in the market for a very small product on which they would get little profit.
I highly recommend this place to everyone in Chicago. I’ll definitely be going back for all of my artwork and framing needs!

So I was going to give these guys a bad review, but I’m glad I didn’t.
Y’see, I brought in a picture I had bought in September but hadn’t gotten around to getting framed. Bringing in the picture was a bit of a hassle, since I had to guard it during the hazardous voyage from Humboldt Park to Lake & Michigan Ave, on the CTA and loop streets from getting bumped by passers-​by. It survived unscathed.
Then I took it in from my office. The staff was very pleasant, helpful, and insightful as to what would look good with my print. The turn around time was good. I picked up the piece when called, and it looked great.
Or so I thought (dun dun DUNN).
After the long lug home on a very cold day, I unwrapped the frame from its protective plastic and cardboard wrap and saw that, along the bottom of the picture, there was a line of characters printed on the glass. It was partially obscured by the frame, but definitely still visible. This apparent lapse in professionalism was what made me want to write a bad review.
Annoyed, I brought the picture back. Back on the ¾ mile long walk, back on the el, back on the streets. I showed it to the employees, who apologized profusely and were able to fix the problem while I had a delicious lunch at Noodles and Co., around the corner.
The speed and professionalism with which they fixed their error led me to write this review. –1 star for making me walk it back and not getting it right the first time. That said, I’ll definitely go again.

Always wanted to go in here and take a look at their framed artwork but I was so worried it would cost me a pretty penny for anything in the store. I was on a quest for a decent picture of Wrigley Field for an Xmas gift and since this store is located right outside my office I thought I would give it a shot. I’m glad I did because not only did I find a picture I was happy with but the price was just as a good. I actually came in under what I had budgeted for this gift.
The staff was really nice and helpful with prepping the picture so it didn’t get ruined in transport. They also explained the return policy to me just in case the person I bought it for wanted something different.
After the holidays I hope to go back to the gallery and purchase some artwork/​pictures for myself!

After walking past this gallery so many times, I finally went in with signs posted for a sale of custom framing. I figured it was good to give it look and find out about prices, etc. They quoted me a nice price and I returned the next day with two prints in hand ready for framing.
The staff is completely cool and professional. They helped me figure out the best mattes to use and the quality of glass. They were concerned with the wear of the mattes and wanted something so that the print would stand out as well as be sturdy. The staff is extremely knowledgable about what works best for certain prints and photos. In no time, I had my two prints selected with nice frames and mattes. For the matting and custom frames, it came to just under $ 200. I was told that it would take about a week to a week and a half for them to be picked up. I got a call in about a week and they’re ready.
I just picked up my framed prints today and they look amazing. They did such a good job. I’ll definitely be back there because of their great quality and reasonable prices.