Gratz Gallery & Conservation Studio has officially opened its doors in the heart of Doylestown’s historic district. To celebrate its new location and the gallery’s anniversary as it enters its tenth year, Gratz Gallery will be presenting a grand re-opening celebration from Saturday, October 24 through December, 2009. A preview reception will be held Saturday, October 24, from 6 to 9 pm. This year’s exhibition, Pennsylvania Painters, highlights many Pennsylvania Impressionist artists, including Walter Baum, Rae Sloan Bredin, William Lathrop, Harry Leith-Ross, Arthur Meltzer, Antonio Martino, George Sotter and others. Philadelphia Ten painters Constance Cochrane, Nancy Ferguson, Isabel Cartwright, and Cora Brooks are also included. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts painters are featured as well, including works by Hermann Herzog, Leon Kelly and Leonard Nelson. A catalog of the show will be available on the Gratz Gallery & Conservation Studio website prior to the event.
As is the tradition of Gratz Gallery & Conservation Studio, a portion of the proceeds from every painting purchased from the exhibition will directly benefit The Ann Silverman Community Health Clinic through a single contribution by the gallery to the organization. This organization, formerly known as The Free Clinic of Doylestown, serves low-income uninsured or underinsured adults and children in the greater Central Bucks County community. Whether by providing medical and dental care or by helping people find resources such as low-cost housing, legal assistance, food and help for battered women, the Ann Silverman Community Health Clinic has made a meaningful difference to more than 8,000 adults and children in the Central Bucks community. To find out more about the clinic please visit aschealthclinic.org.
Paul Gratz, owner and head-conservator of Gratz Gallery, trained at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, among other places. It was at the Academy that he gained his interest in painters from the Academy and, ever since, has been collecting work by Academy artists. Gratz’s expertise has been focused on Pennsylvania painters’ significant and important contribution to the American Impressionist movement. This year’s anniversary exhibition features works by many of the members of The New Hope Circle, the group of painters from the geographic area of the Delaware Valley surrounding New Hope. Art historian Sam Hunter first wrote of this group in his 1984 book and exhibition catalog American Impressionism: The New Hope Circle for The Museum of Art, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Today, the New Hope Circle is recognized nationally, if not
internationally, as among the most eminent of the contributing groups to the American Impressionist art movement.
The Philadelphia Ten, founded in 1917, provided a forum for professional camaraderie and aggressive self-promotion among women artists in a male-dominated art establishment. Many had studied at the Philadelphia School of Design (now Moore College of Art and Design). Fewer were students at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Formally organized before women had the constitutional right to vote in the United States, The Philadelphia Ten enjoyed a hugely successful annual exhibition schedule in its nearly thirty-year lifespan. Given their important and impressive place in the history of American Impressionism, Gratz has developed a keen interest in this group of women artists for both the aesthetic quality and investment value of their work. A variety of canvases of various Philadelphia Ten members are included in the anniversary exhibition.
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.
