NATHAN HAS MADE MANY ARTIST FRIENDS THROUGHOUT HER LIFE, ONE OF THEM WAS THE REV HOWARD FINSTER. HERE NATHAN IS PICTURED WITH HIM ON A VISIT TO HIS GEORGIA STUDIO.
ART DEALER ANN NATHAN THE PERPETUAL COLLECTOR By GINNY VAN ALYEA When I first started working for Chicago Gallery News in 2002, my daily errand visits to galleries near our River North office offered insights into the fabric of the city’s art community as well as one on one encounters with those who had played key roles in shaping its history. At the time, not all information was relayed digitally; hand deliveries of everything from magazines to maps to ad files were necessary tasks. Natalie van Straaten, CGN’s founder and my boss at the time, would ask me, after my visits, whom I had seen, and what impressions they had made on me: Who was kind and welcoming? Who may have been prickly or brusque? Many of my encounters had been shared by previous employees and interns. A telling factor as to the character of a dealer was often how they would treat the lowest person on the totem pole (me). One of the most welcoming figures was Ann Nathan. By 2002 Ann had been in the art business for many years, 28 | CGN | Summer 2020
having opened her gallery in the 1980s, growing and expanding despite major challenges. Though she could have dismissed me as a young person who knew little about art or the area, she showed curiosity and was gracious with me. I found her to be a little bit of a mystery, but she was as intriguing and inviting as her expansive loft space on West Superior Street. Ann Nathan Gallery closed in 2017, but Ann has not stopped working. Last fall I called her daughter Betsy, also a dealer in art and antiques at PAGODA RED in Lincoln Park, to ask if I could visit Ann at home. I was invited to join Ann and two of her daughters – Susan as well as Betsy – in October. Though Ann did not know me as well as she once did, we ended up spending the better part of an afternoon revisiting her many stories while touring her vast, eclectic collection of art. Sitting together in her living room, overlooking Lake Michigan, it’s clear that art, in particular the way it connects Ann to creative people, has always kept her going and continues to today.
