Allan Appel Photo
At her last exhibition she sold $5,600 worth of art. It was not too little, but it was too late. Hull’s Gallery One Whitney, downtown New Haven’s last for-profit art gallery, is closing its doors for good.
The owner blamed the closely largely on the tanked economy.
Manager Barbara Hawes said if she had one more year, she could have made it work.
After nearly three years and 18 shows mostly of New Haven and Connecticut-based artists, to whom the gallery was devoted, Hawes (pictured) was in the process of wrapping it up Wednesday afternoon. (Meanwhile, a few miles west, a collection of five galleries are thriving in the heart of Westville Village; click here, here, here, here, and here to read about some events there.)
Until July 31, the Whitney Avenue space will remain leased by Hull’s, whose main store is on Chapel Street, but only as a site for spring and summer clearance sale of art supplies.
When the Whitney Avenue framing shop and gallery was launched in 2007, the economy seemed as if it could support the business.
“We perceived it as having proximity to a market segment that was not likely to walk up Chapel to come do framing with us,” said Stephen Kovel, Hull’s owner.
And it worked for a while. Lawyers and bankers, as opposed to academics and Yale-affiliated folks, were the primary customers for the paintings, photographs, collages, and occasional sculptures, like the work of steampunk artist Silas Finch.
The framing produced about a third of the revenue, Kovel said. That was typical for such a frame/gallery combination. But it was insufficient to keep up with costs.
“Framing and buying art are very discretionary,” said Kovel. When the economy softened and then grew worse, a decision had to be made.
That happened in February.
Hawes’ spring show was to have been “Line Dancing: A Writer’s Choice of Works on Paper”, co-curated with Stephen Kobasa (an Independent contributor). She had to make a difficult phone call to him. Fortunately another venue was found for that show; it can currently be seen through May 3 at A‑Space@West Cove Studios in West Haven.
Hawes’ style is not to trumpet herself. But she takes pride in what she’s done at Hull’s, particularly her two Open Studio Encore exhibitions. She timed those after the city’s Open Studios in the fall so people could come to Hull’s to see her picks of what she thought the best, and what they had missed. She estimated that to find work that she loves, she’s made more than 300 studio visits.
“You’re the only one doing this, “ Hawes said grateful artists told her.
“My artists depend on me,’ she said.
Hawes said she has sold several hundred art works over the past three years, making many artists happy, but surely not rich. One of the last items going out is this photograph, “Amish Cemetery, PA, 2007,” by David Ottenstein.
Hawes still thinks the location is promising for a for profit gallery that appeals to a more moneyed, corporate clientele wanting to buy quality stuff and have a personal connection to artists, which Hawes specializes in providing.
“How can this be in New Haven? It’s a very sophisticated city, and no retail gallery? There’s plenty of money in this town. I’m baffled,” she said.
But not bitter. An 11-year employee, she’s grateful Kovel gave her the opportunity to test her muscles at something new after having sold art supplies and designed frames for the Chapel Street business.
Had she more time to market, Hawes said she planned to mount a One Whitney Biennial, a juried show, riffing on the Whitney Museum biennial in New York. She was also going to do an artist-of-the-month program bringing a group of selected people to visit artists’ studios.
She still may, but as a private consultant in the arts, into which career she said she will be stepping come July 31. That work won’t have a permanent physical locale, at least not yet, Hawes said.
“We need a voice and a home for Connecticut-based artists,” she said. By “home,” she also meant couches that she had planned for the back of the gallery; a coffee table with catalogs; and a data base of local artists where people could chat about art, have coffee, and then, maybe buy a print or arrange a visit to a studio
She had also wanted her business card to read “Hull’s: The Final Product.” That is, “After the brushes, paint, turpentine, canvas, stretchers, all add up to the beautiful paintings I have on the wall.”.
It was not to be for Hawes, at least not this time around.