Gallery Statement
D. Wigmore Fine Art, Inc. was established in 1980 to specialize in the major historic styles of American art. Over the past three decades the gallery has acquired, developed exhibitions, and sold the Hudson River School, American Impressionism, the Ashcan School, and Turn-of-the-Century Modernism. The current focus of the inventory, exhibitions, and sales are realist and abstract art from 1900 to 1980.
Realism of the 1930s and 1940s:
We handle the paintings of Aaron Bohrod, Charles Burchfield, John Steuart Curry, Adolf Dehn, William Gropper, Peter Hurd, Joe Jones, Rockwell Kent, Doris Lee, Luigi Lucioni, Reginald Marsh, Kenneth Hayes Miller, Dale Nichols, Paul Sample, Ben Shahn and Isaac, Raphael, and Moses Soyer. The gallery is the exclusive agent for the estates of Doris Lee (1904-1983) and Henry Varnum Poor (1887-1970).
Abstraction of the 1930s and 1940s:
The gallery has a broad inventory of the non-objective styles of the 1930's-1940's pioneers of Geometric Abstraction, such as Ilya Bolotowsky, Burgoyne Diller, Werner Drewes, John Ferren, Suzy Frelinghuysen, Balcomb and Gertrude Greene, Carl Holty, Paul Kelpe, George L.K. Morris, Irene Rice Pereira, and Rolph Scarlett. The gallery represents the estates of Charles Green Shaw (1892-1974) and Charles Biederman (1908-2002).
Post-War Abstraction:
Our inventory also contains examples of abstraction from the 1950s through the 1970s, including Abstract Expressionism, Op Art, Washington Color School and California Hard Edge Painting. The Abstract Expressionist Paul Jenkins (1923-2012) is a particular focus for the gallery and we have offered major examples of his paintings in our two Space, Color, and Light exhibitions with two catalogues documenting his art from 1955-1960 in 2007 and 1960-1979 in 2009. Our Op Art inventory centers on the American artists included in the Museum of Modern Art's 1965 exhibition The Responsive Eye. Artists included in that exhibition who we focus on are: Richard Anuszkiewicz, Tadasky (Tadasuke Kuwayama), Mon Levinson, and Ernst Benkert and Francis Hewitt of the Anonima Group. We offer fine examples by the California Abstract Classicists: John McLaughlin (1898-1976), Karl Benjamin (b.1925), Lorser Feitelson (1898-1987), and Frederick Hammersley (1919-2009). Of the Washington Color School, our inventory is rich in works by Gene Davis (1920-1985), Thomas Downing (1928-1985), Howard Mehring (1931-1978), and Paul Reed (1919-2015).
In each area of focus, we make every effort to select paintings, works on paper and sculpture that are in excellent condition and from each artist's best period. Both time and money are spent on necessary conservation to both art and frames using well recognized specialists for the work. D. Wigmore Fine Art strives for a high level of professionalism, and our staff enjoys sharing its love and knowledge of art. D. Wigmore Fine Art serves both private and museum clients. We provide exhibitions and information which create a historical context for artists and their art, and we follow up with clients as more information on an artist that interests them becomes available. The gallery works with scholars to facilitate their research and to make possible connections to our clients for information regarding reproduction and/or exhibition of works in their collections. Our goal is to help clients create meaningful collections of American art.
We welcome inquiries regarding the sale and purchase of American art.
Business Principles
1. We provide paintings with price ranges for both novice and established collectors. We listen to our customers and respond to their needs.
2. We love and deal only in fine art.
3. We offer uncommon value. The paintings we offer are the result of an intensive screening process. We own most of them or represent the artists' estates. Our prices are fair because our costs are well controlled. We avoid fads and strive to present all of our art professionally. We expect to provide lifetime service to our customers.
4. We have a team effort that is open, communicative and shares its knowledge. We offer a happy, positive, and supportive work atmosphere. We eschew sales pressure.
5. Our staff members are expected to be intense and hard working, self-disciplined, and dedicated to professional growth through gallery experience, reading, and attendance at exhibitions and shows. Each person is expected to move into selling, sourcing, and presenting our art.
6. We work well with dealers, art consultants, decorators, and other art professionals without infringing on their client relationships.
7. We keep all gallery affairs confidential, especially those of our clients.
8. While we may never become the biggest gallery, we expect to grow steadily in good times and bad, and to become one of the very best.
Gallery Personnel
Deedee Wigmore, President
Emily Lenz, Director
Richard Jefferson, Registrar
Conservation and Framing by Julius Lowy
Website Design: John Cedric Pedersen, JCP: PC & Mac, Inc.