Giving art buyers something completely different can be risky business
The Wall Street Journal
April 23, 2001
Lawrence Rubin Greenberg Van Doren Fine Arts is the kind of gallery you'd seek if you were in the market for a $1.5 million abstract painting -- a Sam Francis, Roy Lichenstein, or Willem De Kooning.
So, when the gallery last year staged a controversial exhibit of unknown photographers more than a few clients raised an eyebrow.
"I found it unusual given the conservative and traditional nature of the partners," said Howard Rachofsky, an art collector who flew in from Dallas to see the exhibit.
Three of the gallery's partners, Lawrence Rubin, 68 years old; John Van Doren, 38; and Ronald Greenberg, 63; have established reputations in the world of modern masters, and the fourth partner, Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn, 33, the daughter of Ronald, specializes in contemporary photography.
But the gallery's managing director, Dorsey Waxter, 48, hopes the hype the show created will bring in new collectors, broaden the horizons of its established clientele, and create a lucrative market for the emerging artists it now represents.
Expanding Horizons
That's a lot to hope for. And small business seeking to sharply expand its customers' tastes is likely to find it a challenge.
The four seasoned partners opened the gallery in February 1999 at Fifth Avenue and 57th Street in Manhattan, the epicenter of the country's high-end art establishment. And the gallery's first show was true to expectations: paintings by Richard Diebenkorn, who died in 1993, that were inspired by his Ocean Park, Calif., neighborhood.
The photography exhibit was the gallery's second show. The photographs, which resemble movie stills and feature vulnerable, mostly female subjects, enabled the uptown gallery to play ball with Manhattan's hipper, trendier downtown galleries. The show was packed, and the gallery received ample press coverage.
Did the partners alienate their established clients? "A few of the older clients were turned off," says Ms. Waxter. "It wasn't their cup of tea." Fortunately, according to Ms. Waxter, no one defected.
The gallery's aim of bringing in younger clients was a success. However, the more complicated goals of turning young photo buyers into collectors of painting and sculpture, and more established collectors of art into photo buyers has been limited.
Mr. Rachofsky, the Dallas collector, likes the unexpected. "I love the idea of seeing material with which we are familiar juxtaposed with material that is less well-known." Would he buy one of the photographs? No, he says. But he will pay closer attention to the gallery's upcoming offerings.
Sanford Heller, 28, paid $1,500 for a small black-and-white Malerie Marder. The photo is of a naked man lying on the floor gazing at a naked woman on a sofa.
Betting on a Master
Would he buy pricier paintings? "It would take a real revelation," he says. "There are paintings I'd like to acquire but not in this gallery. These are works I grew up seeing in museums. I don't need to see them in my home. Part of the fun of collecting is seeking out the next Sam Francis or Roy Lichtenstein."
Richard Furman, a 68-year-old retired accountant, is one of the gallery's few crossover clients. He buys both established and emerging artists. This year, in addition to two Richard Diebenkorn crayon works from the 1960s -- such works typically sell for $35,000 each -- he bought one of the photographs. It's an image of "a not very attractive looking girl with her dog but it grows on you," Mr. Furman says. It's by Katy Grannan.
The foray was short-lived, however. "If you have a couple, they all look the same," Mr. Furman says. "I don't think I'll buy any more photographs."
© 2001 Melissa Milgrom
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