{"id":2838,"date":"2018-05-10T20:18:10","date_gmt":"2018-05-10T20:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/media-archive.blackartinamerica.com\/?p=2838"},"modified":"2018-05-10T20:24:03","modified_gmt":"2018-05-10T20:24:03","slug":"baia-throwback-collectors-home-tour-2014-the-galloways","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/earthexhibitions.org\/media-archive\/?p=2838","title":{"rendered":"BAIA Throwback : Collectors Home Tour 2014: The Galloways"},"content":{"rendered":"

BAIA Throwback<\/strong><\/h1>\n

A segment in which we go back and revisit archived content from the previous BAIA network. In this episode, we travel to 2014 – and tour avid art collector\u00a0Fearn Galloway’s home, and talk with her and her nephew Major about their impressive, well established art collection.<\/em><\/p>\n

Collectors Home Tour 2014: The Galloways<\/h3>\n

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Collectors from One Generation to the Next:<\/p>\n

Major, how did you develop your interest in art to embark on building a collection?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>This is a thought provoking question.\u00a0\u00a0 My desire to collect was inspired by my Aunt and perhaps the same will be the case for my son. \u00a0I have been influenced by my aunt, my father\u2019s sister to collect art. \u00a0She deposited into my life by exposing me to her collection. My interest in art spawned from childhood and has evolved into the passion it is today. \u00a0Although, I have more than 50 pieces in my collection, as you read and see more images on-line and in the remnant of the varied collections I am able to view. \u00a0I am awed by the beauty of what is out there. \u00a0As a result, my passion continues to evolve and I add to the collection in ebbs and flows, plus I have varied interests, professional responsibilities, obligations as a husband and father and I guess financial constraints. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I am refining my acquisition plan for the future. \u00a0My ultimate goal is to build a rich and varied portfolio of pieces, perhaps a few classic 20th century artists and emerging artists that will be tomorrow\u2019s masters in the 21st century.<\/p>\n

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Galloway with framed artwork when BAIA arrived …<\/p><\/div>\n

audio clip from conversation with Major …<\/p>\n\n

From childhood, I recall three prints my mother displayed to decorate our modest home: \u00a0two European landscapes; \u00a0a Parisian street, an image of a European church; \u00a0and the Three Musicians by Pablo Picasso. \u00a0But I know that I was most influenced early on as a child seeing the personal collection of my Aunt. \u00a0I remember seeing these elongated brown figures by Ernie Barnes and this bluish green Baptismal scene by Romare Bearden.<\/p>\n

Major’s man cave with works by James Denmark and William Tolliver<\/span>\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/figure>
Major’s man cave with works by James Denmark and William Tolliver<\/span>\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

Later as a young adult I would learn many of these images I had seen and had an appreciation for\u00a0since early childhood in the 1970\u2019s were created by African-American artists who are considered as masters of the \u00a020th century master.<\/p>\n

As a child of the seventies, we enjoyed \u201cGood Times\u201d before the Cosby\u2019s and I was captivated by the images shown in some of the episodes produced by the character \u201cJ.J\u201d, the painter who lived in the Chicago public housing project in the \u201cghetto\u201d. \u00a0\u00a0Here my aunt shared that a few of the original paintings in her home were by the real artist, Ernie Barnes. I beamed with pride knowing my aunt had a collection that included a famous artist whose paintings were on television. \u00a0As a child, this made me even more proud of her and our family. \u00a0I was already proud because I know she was a\u00a0mathematician\u00a0and my uncle was a chemist\u00a0whose research made 37 different discoveries in the field of chemistry.<\/p>\n

Later in middle school, then college at Grambling State University and as an adult my interest began to grow as I learned about the European and American Impressionists, the figurative paintings of Picasso and more African-American classical and emerging artists. \u00a0As an adult, I began to desire to purchase art to decorate my first home in the Brookland neighborhood of Washington, DC and even more after we built our current home here in Upper Marlboro, MD where I have more space and have been blessed to divert some disposable income to make some acquisitions.<\/p>\n

Original Ernie Barnes Works Viewed as a Child at My Aunt\u2019s Home: \u00a0\u201cLittle Girl Skating down the Street\u201d and the Women Dancing and Swaying and the prints depicting a Pool Hall and an image of a boy leaping high to dunk a basketball in an old weathered \u00a0backboard<\/p>\n

Barnes captured these images that on one-hand showed poverty, but they were beautiful as they captured a boy playing basketball alone, children playing simple games; people singing and dancing; despite the clear images that showed the people living in poverty. \u00a0The people were depicted in abject poverty or tough situations, but they still were having fun and found enjoyment in what they were doing. \u00a0That\u2019s the message I saw most in Barnes\u2019 works I saw on t.v. and in my aunt\u2019s home. \u00a0And this kind of mirrors the plot and story line in all of those classic episodes of \u201cGood Times\u201d.<\/p>\n

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audio clip from conversation with Ms. Fearn …<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/media-archive.blackartinamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Fearn.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Ms. Fearn:<\/strong> \u00a0\u201cIn the early 1970\u2019s I recall walking up three flights of steps in this NYC city building to the apartment and studio of Romare Bearden. \u00a0I don\u2019t recall if there was an elevator, but the steps were narrow. \u00a0And then inside of the apartment, splendid works were everywhere. \u00a0It was just amazing\u201d.<\/p>\n

Louis Mailou Jones Story<\/strong><\/p>\n

My aunt has told me some great stories about how she grew her collection. \u00a0Some of the best are of her visit to the upstairs third story of Romare Bearden in NYC and her conversations with Lois Mailou Jones who she lived nearby in the late 1960s and early 1970s in northwest Washington, DC. \u00a0As you know, Ms. Jones was the Director of Painting and Water colors at Howard University\u2019s art department for many years. \u00a0\u00a0My aunt recalls that Ms. Jones was very friendly and a \u201cperson of her word\u201d and my aunt really appreciated this. \u00a0She purchased this piece for $250 and Ms. Jones allowed her to buy it after an initial down payment of $150. \u00a0Before the final purchase, Dr. David Driskell came by Mrs. Jone\u2019s house and expressed his desire to purchase the piece for $500, double the asking price Ms. Jones required of my aunt. \u00a0My aunt recalled Ms. Jones\u00a0 told my aunt what Driskell had said to her,\u00a0\u201cMailou, you are giving your art away\u201d. \u00a0My aunt says Ms. Jones wanted to get her art in the hands of African-Americans and interested persons.\"\"<\/p>\n

My aunt was very thankful that Mrs. Jones honored her promise and initial agreement and this in the eyes of my aunt spoke volumes about the\u00a0character of Ms. Jones which I think comes across in a very real and personal way, like the painting \u201cJennie\u201d who was the student of Ms. Jones who was cleaning fish in her home. \u00a0She was personal and took special time with her students in a personal way, even outside of the normal academic setting.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lois Mailou Jones Drawing of an Elderly Man and the Canal in Paris in the Background and the Island Images of Haiti<\/p>\n

My aunt told how she purchased this portrait drawing Mailou Jones had sketched of an elderly African-American man. \u00a0The piece demonstrates the versatility of Ms. Jones who is mostly known for her impressionistic painting, but she was also a book illustrator. \u00a0Ms. Jones was known for her landscape and street scenes in Paris, Martha\u2019s Vineyard and in Haiti and the Carribbean.<\/p>\n

My aunt told of how Ms. Jones said early in her career critics said she did not paint enough images of black cultural images or themes. \u00a0After hearing this, my aunt says, Ms. Jones told her she went out and found the first person she could find who was an African-American and she sketched a portrait drawing of this man. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0This was a wow moment for me because my aunt\u2019s story mirrored what I had read in the book, \u201cTo Conserve a Legacy\u201d, that Jones had been criticized for not doing enough works on black subjects. \u00a0And the book told how from 1939 to 1945 Jones began creating work that focused on the black experience. Alaine Locke, the father of the Harlem\u00a0Renaissance\u00a0and first black Rhodes scholar and\u00a0Howard University professor had admonished Jones to do more works on black subjects.<\/p>\n

Major, What type of art do you like and what has inspired and driven your passion to collect art?<\/strong><\/p>\n

From a big picture perspective, my aunt\u2019s collection is my model \u00a0because she was \u201cahead of the curve so to speak\u201d. \u00a0However, I glean insight from art books, artists like yourself, dealers and collectors that I interact with. \u00a0I strongly believe there is a huge demand for the medium and types of communications forums that Black Art in America is providing and building.<\/p>\n

First, I buy what I like as a consumer. I also buy what and when I can afford to do so. \u00a0From a purely artistic stand point, I am inspired by both images of beauty I see and the ideas behind why artists use their gifts to create what they do. \u00a0What is the message behind the piece? \u00a0What is the artist trying to say? How does the piece personally speak or resonate with me? \u00a0Personally, I like art based on the beauty I see, and on the intellectual side, what the art make me think for feel. \u00a0I collect what I like because our artists have produced works that tell our story in a very beautiful, powerful or poetic way.<\/p>\n

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I purchase things I think reflect me and what I want to project. \u00a0I like images of black people with our varying hues that show beauty. \u00a0I also like images that communicate and tell our story of challenge and triumph; from whence we have come because I am inspired by the progress and strides that have been made. \u00a0I also like the art that reminds us of where we need to go as individuals and as a collective group. \u00a0I like images that affirm us and show family and children, love and passion, our men loving and respecting women who look like them and women loving and appreciating men who look like themselves. \u00a0That was the story of my family and I like artists that inspire and affirm this reality for me.<\/p>\n

I like colorful abstract and figurative pieces that entertain, are festive and illustrate music and spiritual concepts and images with rich colors are very appealing to me. \u00a0I think that is fed by some of my fondness of the rich colors of the European Impressionists like Van Gogh, Gaugin and Monet. \u00a0I liked them when I saw the images in middle and high school and when I visited Musee Dorsay in Paris, and the world-famous NY gallery at Central Park West.<\/p>\n

I am really fond of collages and mixed-media period pieces with rich and vibrant colors and powerful messages that you produce that depict southern and traditional black culture. \u00a0My plan is to secure some classical pieces when it is feasible, but more abstracts, landscapes with rich colors and collages by emerging artists that are establish themselves and will possibly be prominent masters with troth’s of treasures in the years to come. \u00a0This acquisition plan includes one or two more sculptures.<\/p>\n

The favorites in my personal collection are:<\/strong><\/p>\n

An original by Thomas Lockhart entitled \u201cDrums on the Bayou with New Orleans and Lake Ponchatrain and the Mississippi river as a backdrop. \u00a0It is special since I went to college at Grambling State University and pre-Katrina I enjoyed the Bayou Classic and Mardi Gras.<\/p>\n

A serigraph by James Denmark entitled \u201cWhen Love Was Young\u201d. \u00a0This piece is exquisitely beautiful and depicts a couple with dark hues who are engaged in a warm embrace while reclining on a sofa and gazing into each other\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cRejoicing,\u201d is an original collage by Najee Dorsey. \u00a0It depicts a worship scene in a church. \u00a0This powerful piece is rich and vibrant and inspirational as it captures the energy and power of a spirit-filled black church that could be anywhere in America or the world. \u00a0It resonates with me as a tribute to my mother who taught her family and as an example to worship and to love God. \u00a0She was a virtuous and godly woman who helped people. She has made her transition, as a metaphor her image is dropped into the piece. \u00a0It illustrates she is still very present within us and as her spirit, bloodline and legacy lives on. \u00a0That\u2019s what this piece entitled \u201cRejoicing\u201d means to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cSend-Off\u201d by Ann Barbieri. \u00a0An vibrant and colorful original abstract, entitled \u201cSend Off\u201d by Ann Barbieri who showcases her pieces at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, Virginia. \u00a0She is an artist with an established presence. \u00a0I simply love her work and the rich and vibrant colors that blends and mixes and splashes on canvas and paper and mixed-medium pieces in an amazing fashion.<\/p>\n

\"\"Great Artists from One Generation to the Next Connect Us with the Past and Our Future. \u00a0\u00a0My aunt has a 1963 Ebony article with Frederick Douglas, the abolitionist on the cover. \u00a0This 1963 printing coincides with the 1963 March on Washington, another key point on the time-line in our nation\u2019s march toward full liberation and civil rights of Black America. \u00a0My aunt used these publications to do some of her home work to learn of both prominent and emerging black artists. Today, all of \u00a0these artists are considered to be our 20th and 21stcentury masters.<\/p>\n

The cover of a 1963 Ebony article shows an image of Frederick Douglas just before the 100th anniversary of the end of slavery. \u00a0Then there is an drawing by Charles White showing what looks like a youthful Frederick Douglas. \u00a0Then there is the linoleum cut that you produced, entitled \u201cField Worker\u201d that reminds me of these images of Frederick Douglas. \u00a0So, these images in a publication, the work of a classical master, connected with your work inspire me and I see a link between the two images from \u00a0Frederick Douglas, to Charles White (a master) to the Najee Dorsey image of \u201cField Worker\u201d.<\/p>\n

What are the barriers to art collecting and interest in black artists?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Collectors with disposable income and interest by the larger public and community of collectors. \u00a0There is and has been an going challenge and opportunity centered around exposure of art and the artists that are out there and how their works and images and message about their art is communicated.<\/p>\n

I have always had a passion for art and it has grown as I have worked my way up the income ladder and have more disposable income to make purchases. \u00a0Initially, I had to overcome the price of certain works. I remember a work that cost $400 in the mid nineties when I first began working after graduate school. \u00a0This seemed like a lot of money. \u00a0I\u00a0didn’t\u00a0make an initial investment then at a Jazz festival\u00a0in Annapolis, Maryland, but now that $400\u00a0doesn’t\u00a0seem like so much to spend on a piece.<\/p>\n

So, the message is to \u201cfollow the money and there you will find aspiring collectors and new markets as they become more aware of emerging artists and the art that is out there. \u00a0Exposure of our artists and public education are very important to grow demand and our national interest in art and that of African-American artists.<\/p>\n

Outreach by the Print Media. \u00a0Ebony magazine used to advertise in support of black artists. \u00a0I am not sure that continues to be the case today. \u00a0They also have had a prominent collection on display that my aunt visited on more than one occasion. \u00a0I think there is a great potential for Black Art in America to fulfill this media void in today\u2019s technology age of twitter, i-phone, i-pad and on-line communications era.<\/p>\n

How do you think that art will influence your son Gavin?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

As a parent and father you want to nurture, love, and provide guidance to help grow your child. \u00a0You want them to love and to be all that they can be. \u00a0\u00a0You want to help them grow spiritually and emotionally. \u00a0I hope he will find affirmation and be positively influenced by the art and images that he sees in our home.<\/p>\n

I hope the art Gavin sees will help him see the beauty and gifts within himself and the people that look like him. \u00a0I hope he sees men and women that look like him that love each other. \u00a0I hope he sees the positive images of family and people that care about one another. \u00a0I hope he will recognize he is a part of a \u201cfamily\u201d and a rich story that is part of the fabric of America.<\/p>\n

Hopefully, my son will follow our example and have an appreciation for the art in his home as we \u00a0treasure the images.<\/p>\n

Art Is Treasure: \u00a0A Legacy-Investing in Our Future. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Today I view art from an investment perspective and not merely a decorative item or a consumer good for persons with disposable income. \u00a0Our art are treasures I and my family will enjoy and our 5-year\u00a0old\u00a0son at the top of the steps playing will be available for my 5-year son to enjoy and inherit.<\/p>\n

The Need to Invest in Our Artists. \u00a0I also view my purchase decisions as an opportunity to sow seeds or invest in artists that I enjoy and have an appreciation support. \u00a0Artists need the support of patrons and clients and we need artists to produce the treasures and images that entertain and inspire us and motivate us to be and do more than we might otherwise do. \u00a0They also spur our creativity and elevate our minds in a poetic way and inspirational way.<\/p>\n

I view our family collection as investments my son will inherit and these varied investments in him will provide stability and wealth building for him and for our family and the next generation. \u00a0This stability will provide exposure into the realm of art and collecting. \u00a0Although I have been blessed I hope he will be able to go further and do more than I. \u00a0This generational passing of the torch and legacy-building from one generation to the next was emphasized by my parents and their forbears. \u00a0Each successive generation should strive to do more and improve upon the generation before it. \u00a0I want our son to inherit a legacy that he will treasure, including beautiful artistic images.<\/p>\n

Major Galloway, Upper Marlboro, Maryland<\/p>\n

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