All conversations are valuable but perhaps conversations involving art are more significant. Conversations among art experts may be intricate and contain the discussion of fine detail known to both parties. Conversations between a gallery owner and an individual with a passing knowledge of a particular art topic are likely to be of an unmatched nature where one seeks not to reveal the lack of knowledge of the other and the other chooses dialogue which seeks to converse in the safety of generalities.
When visiting the historical town of Ludlow, it was always rewarding to visit the ‘Valentine’ gallery which subsequently moved from Church Street in the heart of the old town to further down the hill in Corve Street. On the old site the speciality collection was upstairs, with a core collection of works of British artists and a set of works by the living Dutch artist Frits Goosen best known for maritime themes. It was my impression that marine artists were a particular favourite line of interest of the gallery. From time to time there would be a work by a British artist that would inspire my interest – one of these being an original oil painting of a scene of children inspecting a catch of fish in Polperro harbour- with a price tag of around £8000. It remained in the gallery’s collection for two visits but on the third it had been sold – to a buyer in the USA.
To obtain a grasp of the details of art of this nature, it is probably best to undertake background reading of the subject matter since isolated facts of the works of specific artists tend to be not well retained. I would imagine there must be well researched material within the art world which forms, as it were, the ‘bible’ of the art community. There must also be specific artists which are favourites for specific galleries. These are certainly not the mainstream names such as Picasso and Chagall where provenance is a major issue. For galleries specialising in their artists of choice, the challenge is as ever to source works of interest from within the art market. It is to be expected, however, that prudent gallery owners are unlikely to reveal their trade secrets casually in conversation. One obvious source, however, are various auctions and where no doubt there are grades of these based on the quality of works available and the integrity of resultant commercial transactions.
E-mails sent from the gallery promoting new acquisitions are always of interest. Some examples are attached to this post. The images light up scenes of past times and lives which would otherwise be lost to memory. Often such works can also often be signposts of an artist’s life and works – evidence of a life spent in artistic endeavours with its challenges, triumphs and possible failures.
The gallery can be contacted at:-
Withypool Bridge, Exmoor by Leonard Richmond 1889 – 1965. This painting was exhibited at the St. Ives Society of Artists Summer Exhibition in 1954. Leonard Richmond was one of the foremost, newer members of the St. Ives group.
