4 minute read
The Joy of Art Collecting with Sharon Weiss
Words by Sharon Weiss / Photography by Megan Smith / Layout by Tori Smith
I grew up in a home my dear mother made visually pleasing. She had a flair for decorating, and I remember thinking our modest home was so inviting. This decor included an oil painting of a Maine ocean scene purchased in Ogunquit, Maine, when my parents were very young. I still own this beautiful painting of the rocky Maine shoreline and I love it today just as I loved it growing up. My children appreciate it also and I look forward to sharing it when it is time for me to pass it on to another generation. My grandchildren have commented how much they like it too. Now, that is great news!
My father was born and reared in Maine. So, Maine ocean scenes have always been a drawing card for me in collecting. The Maine coast remains a favorite subject matter of many contemporary artists' paintings today.
When I had my own home in my early twenties, I knew immediately that art had to be a part of my environment. I began visiting museums whenever I could to see art and learn about the artists who created it. In those early days, our Columbus Museum of Art had a policy that you could borrow art from a local artist, similar to borrowing a book from the library. If you liked it, you could purchase it. At my gallery today, I call it “out on approval.”
I purchased my first oh-so-special Aminah Robinson painting from that museum shop. I was, in my mind, becoming a collector of art and antiques at twenty one years of age. Indeed, it has become my lifetime passion. A joyful passion!
After becoming quite comfortable visiting primarily Ohio museums, I yearned to see art galleries. Of course, I knew museum paintings were just to be admired and were a learning tool in the art world. I decided it was time to investigate galleries where I might be able to purchase what I loved. “Might” was the keyword. Could I simply wander through an art gallery enjoying the art like I had done at a museum? To my delight, I found out I could, and oh, to my delight, I could purchase at a gallery if my heart found something I could afford. The search continues to this day to find art that speaks to me. Art does speak to me, and I am captivated when it does! It's a joyful experience.
I have collected now for fifty years. Just think. A long time.
Along the way, I began being drawn to landscape paintings. Artists from the beginning of time have painted landscapes in their studios from memory or imagination and plein-air (from the French “en plein air” in the open air). I loved looking for landscapes that spoke to me and if I could afford them or if layaway was offered, oh my! I brought them home and found just the perfect place on my wall. I could see beauty day and night in my very own home.
As the years went on, I experienced more involvement in the Columbus art community (I did this by going to museum openings, art fairs, gallery openings, and meeting other art enthusiasts). I began noticing different styles of art that I was drawn to just as much as the landscapes I adored. One style I fell in love with was interiors. I loved the personal feeling I had seeing inside places I had never been. I became hooked, and my focus changed. I was then searching for interior paintings that spoke to me. My walls at home were changing and I quickly found that my landscape paintings looked marvelous with the interior paintings I was acquiring. I believe it was at this time my art collection was born. I couldn't wait to come home from work every day and see the ‘artful home’ I was creating. I was in love with art and the artists who were creating art and that continues to this day.
