Galleries find museum shows to be a 'natural fit': synchronizing gallery events with museum shows spurs business and a 'buzz.'

This past spring and summer will be remembered for big ticket present to views at museums around the land The Philadelphia Museum of Art exhibit "Salvador Dali," enjoyed an stretch outed run through the end of May. The exhibit "Toulouse-Lautrec and Montmartre," began its race at The Art Institute of Chicago July 16 and continues from one side Oct. 10, 2005. The exhibit tread on the heels ofs a successful run at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC

Creating a Demand

The Dali present to view was one of the of high temperature tickets of the season. As Philadelphia Museum of Art Pres Officer Dominic M Mercier says, "the retrospective of Dali's work was the next to the first most highly attended special exhibition in the Philadelphia Museum of Art's history, next to the first only to Cezanne." Attendance soared to more than 370000 clan eager to visit the retrospective, which celebrated the centennial of the Catalan artist's birth. Attendees included celebrities of the like kind as actor Jim Carrey, singer Tom Waits and Ireland's President Mary McAleese. The museum had to stretch out the run by two weeks owed to popular demand.

The appeal and the excitement that the Dali exhibit generated would have delighted the consummate showman in Dali, who was known for his pubic relations facts almost as much as he was known for his art. The appeal of the exhibit was not lost on regional fine art galleries. single savvy gallery owner who chose to capitalize upon the momentum started by the Philadelphia exhibit is Jeanne Richards of the J Richards Gallery in Englewood NJ The gallery, which is located in the novel York metro area, played entertainer to its own Dali present to view this past summer and exhibited a selection of lithographs, serigraphs and statuarys by the artist.

'Natural' Fit

For galleries able to synchronize exhibits with special exhibits at museums, the practice appears to be a fortunate marketing strategy. The Dali present to view was a natural fit, says Richards. "By and large, we do not make an effort to coordinate gallery displays with nearby museum exhibits, on the other hand we did the Dali exhibit because of the exhibit in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. We felt it would uncover us to a different clientele."

Indeed, the museum exhibit drew many first-time visitors to the gallery, including a young pair who had recently attended the Philadelphia exhibit Although they were not previously clients of the gallery, they purchased a Dali limited edition print within minutes of entering the gallery.

"You must remember that many nation were aware of the display in Philadelphia," says Richards. "We sent on the outside press releases and The fresh York Times picked up and featured Dali's 'Manhattan Skyline' in the Sunday Edition of the fresh Jersey section of the Times. Those that could not attend the Philadelphia Museum exhibit felt gratified and delighted that they saw in our gallery works not sole by Dali, but by Miro, Chagall, Picasso and Rockwell."

Many gallery holders agree that the challenges involved with coordinating and promoting gallery exhibits with museum exhibits are well worth the benefits. Included in that clump is Jonathan Kodner, president and director of Kodner Gallery in St Louis. "In February 2004 we make opened our show, 'Beyond the Endles River: Art of the American Frontier;" says Kodner The exhibit featured nearly 100 paintings, watercolors, drawings, prints and statuarys by artists such as Karl Bodner (1809-1893); Charles M Russell (1864-1926); Oscar E Berninghaus (1874-1952); Cassily Adams (1843-1921); Carl Wimar (1828-1862); George Caleb Bingham (1811-1879); Thomas Moran (1837-1926); Frederic Sackrider Remington (1861-1909); and Alfred Jacob Miller (1810-1874)

"At the same time," Kodner continues, "the St Louis Museum held their exhibit 'Art of the Osage.' And The Missouri Historical Society also held a Lewis and Clark Exhibit during the same season."

Kodner says he lay the foundation of that if a gallery present to view "is crafted and presented fitly the benefits far outweigh the require to be paid [i]or[/i] undergone Attendees may simply come to visit the exhibit and extreme point up purchasing works because of their superior quality."

Not Always

Like anything other there are instances where the synchronization of a gallery exhibit with a museum exhibit met with lackluster results

Others are not with equal reason sure. "I think we rest mixed results by tying our Romare Bearden exhibit with the High Museum (in Atlanta) present to view says Skot Foreman of Skot Foreman Fine Art in Atlanta. "Although we received heavier traffic than normal, it did not necessarily translate into more direct sales." This is not to say he won't make trial of and mount another parallel present to view at some point. He says, "We have more [i]or[/i] less ideas now under consideration, on the contrary nothing concrete as of yet"

Who's Following Whom?

For a certain number of galleries it seems that fate plays a part when it comes to the timing of special exhibitions. According to Ernestine Brown of the Malcolm Brown Gallery in Shaker Heights, OH Malcolm Brown Gallery has not ever made a concerted effort to show an exhibition to coincide with a museum exhibit However, there have been a number of exhibits the gallery has mountained that have had similar themes to present to views at the Cleveland Museum of Art. individual such show was the highly fortunate "Gee's Bend Quilt Exhibit" at the Cleveland Museum of Art, which ran [i]or[/i] part of to the other the summer of 2004 and Malcolm Brown Gallery's exhibit, "Urban Threads: Carolyn Mazloomi and Faith Ringgold," sum of two units renowned quilters whose show ran during June and July of 2004