Choosing An Art Gallery DealerLike taking your first ride in an airplane, the virgin visit to an art gallery dealer might give you a few tremors. For art dealers and art galleries have had a vivid and varied press. Opinions of them range from the thought that all art emporia are "rogues' galleries" indeed, to the expression by F. J. Mather, Jr., in his Concerning Beauty, that without the art dealer there could be no art today. Because, he explains, it was the dealer who sustained and encouraged the artist from the 18th century on, when the patronage of church and royalty failed him. As for myself, I try to place art gallery dealers somewhere between the two extreme positions. I feel that they have neither halos nor horns. Examine the owner of a typical art gallery and you will find that, according to his corporeal specifications, you are looking at a human being. He thus has the virtues and failings common to you and me. That there may be charlatanism and chicanery present in the species I will not deny, for you will find a hint of it wherever you give careful scrutiny to many people.
I have spent so many pleasant hours visiting galleries, looking at their exhibits, chatting with the owners (and learning from them as well) that I have the highest regard for the vast majority of these entrepreneurs of the art world. I have had my unpleasant experiences, too, of course. I could tell you about a particular art gallery dealer who descends upon an observer literally licking his chops. If you stand before a drawing or painting for more than three minutes, an unctuous voice informs you that, "It's a beautiful thing. Why don't you buy it? You don't have to pay for it now. You can take it on credit." As you move around the gallery from picture to picture, the monody goes on. Contrast that with the charming owner of the Krasner Gallery on New York's Madison Avenue. I visited there once to pick up a painting I had purchased through another source. Mr. Krasner was not involved in the transaction in any way. When I asked for my picture, he handed it to me and said only, "If you don't have a favorite framer, we do framing; and we would like to help you." I explained that I had somebody who did this work for me, and nothing more was said. I remember a pleasant visit to the Knoedler Gallery when I was looking for a very small and modestly priced bronze by Henry Moore. I gave my budget limitations and was still treated as if I were the Shah of Iran. Similar experiences have pleased me in galleries all over the world. It is only occasionally that you have an unsavory episode, or find a dealer so covetous that you shudder at his anxiety to make a sale. As a result you can have many charming hours just wandering through galleries and looking. Usually, there is a gentleman or woman working or reading at a desk in an inner office who waits quietly for you to make the opening gambit. I have spent many a worthwhile hour chatting with, and learning from, directors, owners and art gallery dealers. If drawings take your fancy, drop in to see Mr. Slatkin on East 92nd Street in New York. He can tell you much about the medium, for he is a recognized authority on drawings. If the owner is not in, take a look at the book on the table-it was written by Mr. Slatkin and has a lot to say. A visit to Mr. Lucien Goldschmidt's relaxed, yet almost austere, premises gave me the fascinating story about a collector who bought a drawing by Fernand Leger which had a second drawing on the reverse side. |