May 16, 2012, 5 to 8 pm.

The way a painting is framed can be an important factor in the way artwork is perceived. Paintings from different periods require different styles of frames and different painting palettes require different frame colors or tones.  In most cases, we think that paintings should be framed the way the artist would have wanted to see his or her painting framed at the time it was executed. Many artists were extremely particular in making these choices, some going so far as designing specific frames for their work. In each case, we purchase antique, “period” frames that were created at a time that would be appropriate for that painting. Once we have decided on the right period and style for the frame, we assess the color tones that will best complement the artwork. Finding just the right frame can take days or weeks and is becoming more and more expensive as authentic period frames become ever scarcer. Nevertheless, the resulting “marriages” of painting to frame are essential to fully revealing the qualities of each work of art.

Avery Galleries strives to buy the best possible examples of American fine art in all genres. We believe that educating our clients and ourselves is integral to our mission and is critical to the placement of artwork in individual and institutional collections. We love art and we love people who love art. We believe that living with great works of art is a joy, a privilege and a responsibility. We exist to support people in that pursuit.

Avery Galleries is a relative newcomer to the gallery world having been founded in 2001. The principals, Richard Rossello and Washburn Oberwager, spent the first part of their careers in entirely different entrepreneurial business pursuits. What brought them together to form Avery Galleries was a mutual passion for American fine art. Oberwager was born in the Hudson River Valley and from the time he was a child lived with works by the artists who made the region famous. Rossello was a lifelong collector and avidly pursued collecting opportunities as an avocation. Lightning struck on Rossello’s forty-eighth birthday when he suffered a mild heart attack. While recovering from the resultant bypass surgery, he decided that life was too short to do anything by half measure. He retired from his restaurant operating company and with Oberwager opened Avery Galleries. The business partners established two guiding principles that have become bedrock beliefs of the company. First, was to manage the quality of the art sold by purchasing it outright rather than taking art on consignment. This “put your money where your mouth is” orientation has allowed Avery to focus on works deemed to be most desirable, not on serving the needs of consignors who may or may not be selling works that meet the highest standards. Second, Rossello and Oberwager only buy paintings that they would want to own personally. These tenets have helped Avery Galleries to establish a reputation for consistent quality in the works of art offered.

Buying art is intimidating. It is expensive. There are many variables, and sources of information run the gamut from comprehensive to incomprehensible. The saying, “I just buy what I like” is fine as long as you don’t care about the financial ramifications of your decisions. When considering purchases that can easily run into the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, making informed decisions is a better way to go. Approaching art collecting as an educational journey rather than a shopping expedition will make for a more rewarding experience. Too many people (my younger self included), start by buying a genre that is immediately appealing to them. Over time, as you look at more and more art and as you learn more about the history of art, you may well (probably!), find yourself becoming more interested in another, entirely different period or group of artists. If you have already invested heavily in art that is no longer central to your primary interest, you may experience that awful feeling of buyers’ remorse. The central lesson is to look at a lot of art before you buy anything. Learn as much as you can about artists whose work strikes you.

With the fount of information available on the internet, it is tempting to think that you can learn everything you need to know from the comfort of home. Not so. Art has to be experienced in person. A painting that looks wonderful in a photograph can be disappointing in person. Conversely, a painting that looks utterly forgettable in print can be wonderful in the flesh. Talking to people in galleries and museums is often the only way to learn the details of a particular painting – its history, condition and place within the artists’ oeuvre. Art collecting is a contact sport.

It is almost always a better decision to buy one great painting than two or more lesser works. No artist, being human, ever painted only masterpieces. For most artists, there are only a handful of works that fall into that category. Other works might have been good to average and some could be downright disasters. Edward Redfield, a prominent New Hope impressionist painter regularly burned works that he deemed to be below an acceptable level of quality. He referred to them as “battles lost”! If only other artists had adopted his brutally honest self-scrutiny. Learning enough about an artist to determine those great paintings from the merely good is one of the greatest pleasures of collecting. In the marketplace, the great examples of artists’ work always command a premium and are always the easiest to sell. That makes them not only wonderful to live with, but also a better investment as well.

Fall in love with paintings, not signatures. It’s easier than you might think to be swayed by a famous name. Who wouldn’t want to own a Winslow Homer or a John Singer Sargent? If the work doesn’t truly represent the artist, however, and is affordable only because of the signature, it won’t be a part of your collection that provides any real gratification.