Eleanor Ettinger Gallery: Bastion of Contemporary Realism

NEW YORK—Thirty-five years since it opened its doors in SoHo, the Eleanor Ettinger Gallery is a rarity in New York City. It is one of the last bastions of realist and representational art in a market dominated by abstract and pop art. But the gallery says the tide may be turning.

“It’s really changed over the last 15 years. There’s a resurgence, and the genre is taking a more substantial role, taking its more rightful place, but it’s still a struggle,” said Frann Bradford, the gallery’s co-owner.

The gallery is now owned and run by Eleanor Ettinger’s daughter Frann Bradford and son-in-law James Umphlett, who are fascinated with realism and are well-known for their dedication to exhibiting classic works with a modern voice.

Eleanor Ettinger, however, had a somewhat different direction back when she started out.

Ettinger firmly established her company in fine art lithography when she opened in 1975 with America’s beloved realist artist Norman Rockewell as her first artist.

“My mother was an artist herself. The first artist she represented was Norman Rockwell. She was the official publisher of his limited-edition, hand-signed lithographs,” Bradford said.

“Staying true to the original techniques of lithography, she outfitted the atelier she set up with two flatbed Voirin presses from Paris,” James Umphlett, Bradford’s husband said.

“Our passion was more in paintings. When my mother retired, we began to change the company’s focus on lithographs to contemporary realist artists,” Bradford said.

Out of SoHo

Bradford and Umphlett also wanted to move the gallery out of SoHo in July 2010.

“We were in SoHo for 27 years but decided to leave. SoHo just wasn’t the art center of the city anymore,” Bradford said. “We wanted a gallery in both Chelsea and Midtown.”

So instead of choosing between the two, they made a bolder move and did both.

“Chelsea is still a developing area, with things like the highline, and traditionally it’s had more abstract and experimental art galleries, so we wanted to be the bastion of representational artists there,” she said, noting that there are a few other such galleries there as well.

“Midtown is the long-established art center of New York. There are dozens of galleries within blocks. And the area is more attuned to representational work, both modern and historic,” Bradford said from her elegant 57th Street gallery.

‘Constant’

The gallery’s artists are all contemporary realist and representational painters working in the genres of figurative art, still life, and landscapes.

The couple’s passion for this type of art comes from a deep understanding of what it means to humanity. The traditional forms and methods followed by many of the gallery’s artists require incredible skill and training. That is part of what allows the timeless art to reach people.

“Representational art is a constant. As far back as we can trace it—going back to cave paintings—man has needed to mirror our life through art, mirror our lives and times and what we find sacred,” Bradford said.

“No matter how many other artistic styles come and go, that tradition holds true to us. The skill of this art is also more accessible to everybody. It’s a more universal way of communication than other styles, like abstract, for example,” Bradford explained. “There’s no need for higher education to understand it. It’s more universal. Abstract and other modern art can be more elitist.”

But the level of training, skill, and talent needs to be much higher to have that effect. The subject matter and composition also need to offer insight.

“The key to the power of representational work is the draftsmanship. The artist has to be a skilled draftsman. Then, with that foundation, the artist needs to have the ability to say something unique or to express a different take on things to be great,” Bradford said.

To a modern audience, that’s where the difference and relevance lies. Artists are bound to be shaped and influenced by the times in which they live. Using traditional painting styles, the possibilities for a subject are boundless.

“As an artist, you can revisit styles and themes from the past, such as [those of] the academics, but the contemporary artist needs to bring something new and fresh, and living in our present times, the influence is inevitable. Representational art has endless forms of expression.”

Asked what makes a great painting, Bradford replied, “Exceptional art has something more indefinable. It happens when the artist has a deeper connection to what they’re painting.”

One Hundred Years

Bradford traces the decline of modern art back almost 100 years.

“Even before we started dealing, in the 1920s, 30s, 40s and 50s, it was all headed toward minimalism and pop movements, and there was very little in representational work,” she said.

She said representational art was denigrated because it was considered too ‘pretty.’

And so the wheel of history begins to turn and redress the foundation of our arts that so many had turned their back on.

“We’ve been doing this for a long time, but now we’re seeing more galleries—even the more avant-garde galleries—with realist artists in their roster,” she said.

“There’s been a real resurgence in representational art, not just with collectors and galleries, but also in education institutions offering the figurative approach and fundamental training. For many decades, it was very difficult to find an institution that trained in realist art. It fell so out of favor.”

Current and Upcoming Exhibits

The Eleanor Ettinger Gallery location on 57th Street has just completed a month-long exhibition of self portraits, including almost all the artists they represent. At the time of this interview, many of the works had already sold.

“It’s very interesting for people to see the artist in a painting. They look at them differently than other figure paintings because it is the artist,” Bradford said of the reactions to the show. Also, collectors like to have a self-portrait of an artist they collect.

The gallery will hold its Fifteenth International Salon July 18 through Oct. 6. Its established artists and new emerging talents—a roster of 30 artists—will rotate in new works throughout the season in an evolving group show.

The Chelsea location is holding its Summer Salon from June 26 to Aug. 17.

Additional reporting by Denise Darcel

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