[Chris Saper]

Kim,

Get a new frame for the upcoming competition. ( Is the painting a standard size?)

I definitely think you should see about removing the plaque, and either replacing it evenly, or if the frame is damaged after removal, get another slightly larger one made yourself. When you show this painting in the future, you most certainly want the honor to be evident to a potential client.

As I recall, when I won a couple of awards from the Pastel Society some years ago, they glued the little plaque to the glass (easy to remove), but perhaps because the frame molding was curved, and unable to support the little plate. I think that it would be better for the group making the award to give the plaque separately to the artist, than to place it on the frame, but I don't know if there is some kind of protocol on this.