Shopping in Portsmouth

At Art de Triumph, local artist Nancie King Mertz showcases her original paintings and pastels and outfits clients' masterpieces in custom frames. Much like the courtroom artist at Rod Blagojevich's trial, Mertz often draws inspiration from iconic Chicagoan figures, rendering portraits including The Bean (also known as Cloud Gate) and the Wrigley Building. The Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau named Mertz the Artist of the Year from 2005 through 2007, acknowledging her expertise with watercolor, oil, and pastel. In addition to ready-wear wall art, Art de Triumph deals in custom frames, helping clients select and customize matting and framing for photos, posters, and other important memorabilia such as the CTA card used to travel to the studio.

The winner of four consecutive Best Custom Framing awards from CityVoter users, Masterpieces Fine Art & Custom Framing stocks more than 2,300 frames, including work by industry mainstay Larson-Juhl. Its skilled framers meld function and aesthetic form to secure works of art in everything from American hardwood to 22-karat-gold-leafing frames to metal handcuffs. Aside from framing, the staff also restores faded or creased photos to their original vivid states and brings photos to life by converting them into imitation oil paintings or watercolors that look like they were born from hours of meticulous brushstrokes.