Gratz Gallery & Conservation Studio is pleased to announce an exhibition featuring works by the area’s most prestigious and talented contemporary artists, side-by-side with Pennsylvania Impressionists, The Philadelphia Ten and painters from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. The exhibition, Now & Then, seeks to delineate the push-and-pull of influence and autonomy between the gifted painters of today and the masters of American Art who came before them. The show will include paintings by more than a dozen contemporary painters: Robert Beck, Patricia Burns, John Ennis, Jennifer Hansen, Glenn Harrington, James J. Himsworth, John Kane, Richard Lennox, Jan Lipes, Babette Martino, Elise Phillips, Bob Richey, Materese Roche, Robert Seufert and George Thompson among others. Their predecessors, such as Edward Redfield, Walter Baum, Rae Sloan Bredin, Fern Coppedge, Cora Brooks, Leon Kelly, Hermann Herzog and Antonio Martino will be represented as well. The exhibition will run from March 14 through April 18, 2010. An opening reception for the exhibition will be held on March 13, from 6pm to 9pm. A snow date is scheduled for the following day, March 14, from 3 to 6 pm. A catalog of the show will be available on the Gratz Gallery & Conservation Studio website prior to the event. 

The rich cultural heritage of the Bucks County region has long been a source of inspiration for some of the nation’s most esteemed artists. The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, founded in 1805, was the nation’s first school and museum of fine arts. The school quickly became known as the epitome of fine art instruction, and an array of major American artists taught, studied or exhibited at the Academy. Many of the key players of both the New Hope School and the Philadelphia Ten were students or instructors at the Pennsylvania Academy. In the late nineteenth century, nearly 100 years after the Pennsylvania Academy was founded, art colonies began forming up and down the nation’s east coast. One of the most renowned of these colonies was the one that formed in 1898 on the banks of the Delaware River in New Hope. This colony, soon to be coined the New Hope School, was ideally located between New York City and Philadelphia and featured stunning landscapes and four strongly delineated seasons, all of which appealed to the artists who settled there. William Lathrop, Edward Redfield and Daniel Garber are a few of the early luminaries that made New Hope their home. They were soon followed by painters Fern Coppedge, John Folinsbee, and Harry Leith-Ross among others, who also lived and worked in the river town. Nearby, in Philadelphia, a group of talented and driven female artists were organizing in the hopes of having their artwork seriously displayed and considered at a time when art by women was merely considered ‘hobby’ and ‘craft’. This group, The Philadelphia Ten, was composed of approximately thirty women artists over its twenty-eight years in existence. Encouraged by instructors such as Henry Snell, the group was incredibly successful and has left us with the work of such talented painters as Cora Brooks, Nancy Maybin Ferguson, Constance Cochrane and Mary Elizabeth Price and many more.

Today, over 100 years after the founding of the New Hope School, artists continue to make the Bucks County region their home. Painters such as Glenn Harrington, John Kane and Robert Seufert are just a few of the many talented landscape painters in the region. Their river views, rolling meadows and quiet snow scenes bring to mind works by Charles Rosen, Daniel Garber and Walter Baum. Materese Roche uses the instruction she gained at the Pennsylvania of Academy of the Fine Arts to paint beautiful and highly academic still lifes. Robert Beck, a longtime resident of the area, paints wonderful impressionistic genre scenes, bringing to mind the bright and colorful work of Paulette Van Roekens or even the scenes of day-to-day by Robert Spencer. Another inspiring aspect of Bucks County is the support given to local artists by the area’s residents. The many sophisticated patrons and admirers of our area’s strong artistic heritage continue to make Bucks County an area dedicated to the arts.

Gratz Gallery & Conservation Studio is located at 68 S. Main Street, Doylestown, just a few short blocks away from the James A. Michener Museum of Art and The Mercer Museum. The gallery features 19th and 20th century American Art, as well as museum quality fine art conservation services and custom framing.  The gallery is open Wednesdays through Saturdays, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Sundays, 12:00 noon – 6:00 p.m., as well as by appointment. Call 215-348-2500 or visit the Gratz Gallery and Conservation Studio website at www.gratzgallery.com.

Now and Then Exhibition Press Release
Flyer (PDF)

Appraisal Day is returning again to the Gratz Gallery & Conservation Studio, recently relocated to Doylestown from New Hope, Pennsylvania. People travel from near and far to this annual event, with paintings and frames in-tow, to get guidance from two of the region’s foremost fine art experts. If you’ve always wondered what that painting is worth that your grandparents gave you, or what it would take to repair the rip in the painting that fell off the wall last year, Gratz Gallery & Conservation Studio will be offering a day of appraisals and conservation estimates on Saturday, April 10th, from 1 pm to 5pm. This year, to make the event even more exciting, we are encouraging a donation of $20, which will directly benefit the Mercer Museum of Doylestown. Bring your great-aunt’s portrait for a fair-market appraisal; find out what’s underneath that soot-darkened painting in your attic; bring your Bucks County art for a cleaning and repair estimate. Bring in your paintings and old frames for insight and guidance from the gallery’s owner and lead conservator, Paul Gratz with Cindy Charleston, ISA CAPP, one of the nation’s foremost appraisers. Due to the popularity of this annual event, patrons are requested to limit their inquiries to two pieces per family. The appraisers will get to all the paintings they possibly can in the day.

Your donation at the Gratz Gallery Appraisal Day Event will help support much needed conservation work on artifacts and artwork in the Mercer Museum’s collections. Operated by the Bucks County Historical Society, the Mercer Museum contains one of the most extensive collections of materials associated with everyday life, art and work in early America. It is especially renowned for its collection of tools and other artifacts associated with pre-industrial trades, agricultural labor, and domestic work, much of which was assembled by founder Henry Chapman Mercer in the early 20th century. Inspired by Mercer’s founding vision, and his dramatic architecture, the Historical Society and Museum seek to cultivate a broad appreciation and awareness of our past, helping audiences find stories and meanings to sustain them in the present and aid them in approaching the future. To learn more about the Mercer Museum, including its upcoming Auction Fundraiser on the evening of Friday, April 16, 2010, go to www.mercermuseum.org

Cindy Charleston Rosenberg, ISA CAPP, is the founder and President of The Art Appraisal Firm, an independent appraisal company dedicated exclusively to the appraisal of fine art. Ms. Rosenberg has distinguished the firm within the industry by removing potential bias from the appraisal process. Art Appraisal Firm appraisers do not sell, broker, or represent fine art for sale in any capacity. For this reason, prominent auction houses, prestigious galleries, national museums, financial advisors, attorneys and private collectors from around the country rely confidently upon her expertise as an unbiased independent appraiser and art consultant. A fully Accredited Member of the International Society of Appraisers (ISA), Cindy utilizes her more than twenty years experience in the marketplace to evaluate collections of American and European paintings and sculpture. In 2007, Ms. Rosenberg was awarded the ISA CAPP distinction by completing the experience, continuing education, report writing, and qualifying examination requirements for ISA Certification to Appraise Fine Art (CAPP). CAPP status is the highest level of recognition ISA can bestow. As of this writing, there are fewer than 25 individuals holding the ISA CAPP designation in Fine Art in the United States and Canada. Certification to appraise personal property issued through this program is the result of a several year process of study that includes instruction, research, testing and peer review. ISA Certified membership also requires continuing education and a re-qualification examination every five years.

Specializing in the conservation of oil paintings and gilt frames for twenty-five years, Paul Gratz’s formal training began at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and was developed through various apprenticeships with some of the nation’s most respected art conservators. Today, Paul leads a team of skilled artisans in combining modern techniques with Old World craftsmanship to offer the finest in treatment for oil paintings, murals and gilt objects. Since 1982 Gratz has provided his services to museums, historical societies, universities, churches and many private collections. “Truly skilled conservation of your art”, says Gratz, “preserves as much as is possible of the original art itself, and therefore preserves its utmost value. Conservation treatment restores original radiance, color and detail to your treasured oil paintings, adding years of life and maximum value to even the most damaged artwork. Our dedication to the quality of care for your investment is surpassed only, perhaps, by our passion for the beauty of the craft itself.”

Located at 68 S. Main Street in Doylestown, the Gratz Gallery & Conservation Studio specializes in 19th and 20th century American paintings, with a focus on painters from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. In addition to art investment Gratz Gallery also offers custom framing, and run a conservation studio specializing in the treatment and stabilization of oil paintings. The gallery is open Wednesdays through Saturdays, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Sundays, 12:00 noon – 6:00 p.m., as well as by appointment. Call 215-348-2500 or visit the Gratz Gallery and Conservation Studio website at www.gratzgallery.com.

Appraisal Day Press Release
Mercer Museum website

Gratz Gallery is pleased to announce a first time exhibition of work by Bucks County artist, Glenn Harrington. Recognized and collected in both the United States and abroad, Harrington (b. 1959) has had an array of solo exhibitions at galleries across the globe, as well as having had his work exhibited at a selection of prestigious museums. The exhibition, which runs from April 25th through May 30th, 2010, will feature a selection of Glenn’s local landscapes and luminous portraiture. An opening reception with the artist will be held at the gallery on April 24th, 2010, from 6pm-9pm.

After graduating from Pratt Institute in 1981 Harrington began a full time career as a painter and illustrator. His illustrations appear on over 600 book covers; however, he is perhaps best known for his beautiful figurative and landscape compositions. Harrington’s soft brushstrokes and unparalleled manipulation of light combine to create powerful and dramatic compositions. Although his paintings are carefully considered, there is an undeniable sense of naturalness that only the most masterful painter can create. His portraits and figurative genre scenes are highly desirable; they have received many accolades. Harrington is a longtime resident of Pipersville, Pennsylvania, so do not be surprised if you recognize the landscape in his work, as many of his paintings depict the area’s most treasured vistas and landmarks.

“Glenn has a fascination with Sycamore trees, just as did Daniel Garber,” says gallery owner Paul Gratz. “Glenn’s palette is remarkably tender and painterly, whether he is portraying nature or figures. Each canvas is really very beautiful.”

Glenn has received many awards for his artwork including the Portrait Society of America Award of Excellence (2009), The Draper Grand Prize at the annual Juried Exhibit of the Portrait Society of America (2007), and the Award of Excellence at the annual Juried Exhibit of Oil Painters of America (2007) among many others. Most recently his painting, Catnap, won the top prize at The International Guild of Realism (2010) in Palm Desert, California. His work has been featured in many prestigious publications including: American Arts Quarterly, American Art Collector, International Artists Magazine, the covers of American Artist & US Art, New Art International, The New York Times, and Philadelphia Inquirer.

Gratz Gallery & Conservation Studio is located at 68 S. Main Street, Doylestown, just a few short blocks away from the James A. Michener Museum of Art and The Mercer Museum. The gallery features 19th and 20th century American Art, as well as museum quality fine art conservation services and custom framing.  The gallery is open Wednesdays through Saturdays, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Sundays, 12:00 noon – 6:00 p.m., as well as by appointment. Call 215-348-2500 or visit the Gratz Gallery and Conservation Studio website at www.gratzgallery.com.  A full catalogue of the exhibition will be available on the website prior to the start of the exhibition. Please feel free to contact the gallery directly with any questions regarding the exhibition.

Glenn Harrigton Press Release

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