Crescent Select® NYPD Blue Archival Matboard — 100% Acid-Free Custom Bevel
Our flagship deep dress-navy conservation matboard—commissioned across New York for NYPD citations and retirements, Long Island nautical charts, coastal photography, and university degrees.
From NYPD Honors to Long Island Sound Nautical Charts
Named in honor of New York's Finest, Crescent Select® NYPD Blue is a deep, authoritative dress navy that serves two iconic curatorial traditions: framing law enforcement, military, and municipal honors, and anchoring maritime seascapes and antique nautical maps.
Because navy blue functions as a classic architectural neutral alongside both gold leaf and silver/pewter, NYPD Blue is also one of our most requested mats for Columbia, Yale, Villanova, and Penn State diplomas.
Curator's Recommended Frame Pairings: Pair with our 2.125-Inch Mahogany & Gold Frame, our Pewter Plein Aire Academy, or our 2-Inch Ornate Gold Frame.
Interactive 20-Color Archival Matboard Selector
Every pre-cut matboard is 100% acid-free and lignin-free 4-ply alpha-cellulose. Click any shade below to compare color theory and frame pairings across all 20 studio colors:
Conservation Chemistry & Matboard Architecture
Standard retail matboards are milled from raw wood pulp containing lignin—an organic polymer that breaks down over time and releases acids. Within a few years, cheap mats turn brown at the bevel and permanently burn a dark yellow stain ("mat burn") into your artwork.
- Crescent Select® Conservation Standard: Purified alpha-cellulose fibers completely stripped of acid and lignin, buffered with calcium carbonate to maintain an alkaline pH reserve for 100+ years.
- Physical Airspace Spacer: The 4-ply (1/16") thickness keeps your photograph or watercolor from pressing directly against the glazing, preventing moisture condensation and emulsion sticking. Read Mastering the Mat Board: Depth, Color & Architecture.
How do our Pre-Cut Archival Matboard dimensions work?
- Outer Dimension Matches Your Frame Size: The outer size you select (e.g., 11"x14" or 16"x20") drops directly into our corresponding Ready-Made Picture Frames.
- Inner Window Overlap: The inner bevel window is precision-cut slightly smaller (typically 1/4" on each side) than the stated artwork size so your print or photograph rests securely behind the window without falling through.
- Need a Custom Fractional Window or Bottom-Weighting? Visit our Custom-Cut Archival Matboards Studio for custom window dimensions, 8-ply museum rag, double mats, and V-grooves!
An acid-free front matboard can only protect your artwork if the rear backing board and front glazing are equally archival:
- Mandatory Acid-Free Backing: Never place corrugated cardboard behind your artwork! Pair your mat with our Pre-Cut Archival Acid-Free Foamboards in the matching outer dimension.
- 99% UV Acrylic Glazing: Protect both your artwork and matboard pigment from sunlight fading with Tru Vue® Conservation Clear Acrylic or anti-reflective Optium Museum Acrylic.
Whether you are matting a single degree or ordering 200 mats for a gallery exhibition:
- Scientific Color Matching: See how we calibrate print colors to matboard undertones in Abbot Art's Scientific Method for Perfect Color Matching.
- Diploma Conservation: Read Diploma Framing: Preserving Your Greatest Achievement.
