article - Galerie d`Orsay

NOVEMBER 2011 • $4.95 US
www.fineartmagazine.com
Art Blooms
in Boston
at Galerie
d’Orsay
4 • Fine Art Magazine • Fall 2011
Sallie Hirshberg of Galerie d’Orsay
GALERIE d’ORSAY’S SALLIE HIRSHBERG
“The art world never stops turning and churning…”
Sallie Hirshberg
Galerie d’Orsay in bloom on Newbury Street, Boston
By JAMIE ELLIN FORBES
Youthful, beautiful and ebullient, Sallie Hirshberg personifies
JEF: How did you break into the art world?
everything that is positive in today’s turbulent art world. With
SH: I am one of the few people in my field who actually has made
a profession from what they studied. For ten years, I worked for
degrees from Boston University in Art History and Business, Ms.
Fidelity Investments, and learned a lot there. I’m
Hirshberg combines her love of both as owner/
in it because I love art and believe in it. It was a
founder of Galerie d’Orsay. Located on Boston’s
great foundation because Fidelity was also my
historic Newbury Street, Galerie d’Orsay has
account and I was able to assist the subsidiaries
thrived even in challenging times by integrating
with their art collections. New managers would
auction house stalwarts with a group of living
be given gifts that I would recommend. I also
contemporary artists in a spacious showplace
oversaw their galleries in the New England
replete with the charm that comes with being in
area. This gave me great insight of how to run
a business as well as what type of art I wanted
the midst of centuries of American and European
to showcase. The art we represent at Galerie
history. Galerie d’Orsay is currently hosting a one
d’Orsay all has museum credentials.
man exhibition of the Lebanese-born Montréal
artist Samir Sammoun. A modern impressionist,
JEF: Why Newbury Street?
Sammoun has been a staple at the gallery with
SH: At the height of the economy, Newbury
many sold-out shows. Collectors who walked in as
street was lined with 47 art galleries and still has
tourists have begun very vibrant collections with
quite a few, along with many equally charming
Samir’s work. He is among a handful of living
restaurants. It is historic, dating back to the
English colonists. From our vantage point on
artists sharing wall space with the legendary
Rembrandt, The Descent From the Cross
the first block, right next to the Boston Public
greats of the art world—Rembrandt, Renoir,
Gardens, we are one of the very first galleries
LíHermitte, Toulouse-Lautrec, Pissarro, Manet,
you will come across as you make your way down
Picasso, Matisse, Dali, Cassatt, Chagall and Miro just to name a
this historic stretch. One of the best things about such a location is
few. Master works on paper with emphasis on rare and museumthat people see us first, come in for a visit and often find something
quality artworks that span the past six centuries are Galerie d’Orsay’s
and fall in love with the art and the gallery.
hallmark. Fine Art Magazine publisher Jamie Ellin Forbes recently
JEF: How do you see your role as a modern art dealer in the context
visited Ms. Hirshberg at the gallery. Following is the interview, also
of art history?
SH: In capturing the moment of today while embracing the past, we
in video online at www.fineartmagazine.com
6 • Fine Art Magazine • November 2011
Henri Matisse, L’enterremente de Pierrot
are as in tune with the activity of those who push the envelope to the
maximum of what is defined as art—Damian Hirst, Jeff Koons—
as we are to other artists who are more conceptual. We also stay
abreast of the auction markets, where Picasso has the record for sales
(which says something about modern art) and where Impressionism
is the most loved genre. As an art advisor to major corporations, I
recommend acquiring works of art that have stood the test of time
like a Rembrandt or a Picasso, as well as living artists worthy of
hanging next to these great masters.
JEF: What is your criteria?
SH: On a personal level, I think everything is art—that’s what art is
about. Whatever one’s motives in collecting art—be it for pleasure
or profit—our goal is to find the right art for them.
JEF: Congratulations on the eleventh anniversary of your gallery.
Do you recall your opening show?
SH: Our first exhibit was with M.L. Snowden, the ultimate protege
of Rodin. The second show was Rembrandt. The foundation of our
gallery is masterworks on paper. This has been a nice formula for us.
Even with the dip in economy we just sold a Picasso well into the
six figures—one of his more famous linocuts. The same piece sold
at auction not too long ago for $600,000. We were able to obtain a
different edition of the same one for substantially less. We also find
pieces that are not normally on the market, for example, a complete
Matisse jazz suite, one of his most important works.
JEF: Tell us about your current exhibition.
SH: It’s Samir Sammoun. He’s been compared to the incomparable
van Gogh. Samir paints with earth tones, with an undercoating
of sienna and applies it with a brush effect that somehow lets the
undercoating work as a light, almost as a highlight, within the
painting itself shining through the image. It is a very different
technique, and Samir is an incredible artist. In this exhibit, Samir
will also unveil his new bronze sculpture, Olivier, which will one
“Art collecting is absolutely something that I
believe you should do as a passion but it also
certainly seems to be quite a solid investment as
opposed to some of the other options out there
that are more volatile.”
At the Bruno Zupan exhibition, fashion designer Zang Toi with
Reggie and Steve McCormack with Sallie Hirshberg.
Fine Art Magazine • November 2011 • 7
Luc Leestemaker, Chrysanthemum #3
day be a monumental work. There is no one like Samir. He is full
of life, generous of spirit, and an amazing painter. Samir has been
with us a good seven years if not longer and every show that we
have with him is a sold-out exhibition. The collector base for his
work is quite eclectic, comprised of people of many backgrounds and
nationalities. He has built a wonderful bridge, creating a connection
between people of different cultures who all love one artist. We have
so many people who fall in love with his work and we’re quite proud
to be able to represent him here in Boston.
JEF: And Zupan?
SH: He is another important artist. I first saw Bruno when a friend
was directing a gallery in Soho, NY. I remember sitting in that
gallery for an hour mesmerized by his paintings. Bruno tends to
use a palate with colors drenched of the Mediterranean and a loose,
broad brushstroke may be the result of him working outdoors. What
we strive to do at Galerie d’Orsay is represent the best artists of our
time in specific genres—contemporary, impressionist, figurative. I
feel that we have achieved this with our artists.
JEF: To what do you attribute the success of your gallery during
this particular time?
SH: Our passion, knowledge, staff, location and of course, our artists.
JEF: A recent piece in the Wall Street Journal noted that during all
of this rearrangement of money, art is the perfect investment; that
it continues to climb.
SH: I’m really surprised based on the market with the amount of
activity that we’ve had here in the gallery. While getting ready for
our Matisse Jazz show in September, we sold over 50% of the work
before the opening.
JEF: I love the art and your diligent research of provenance. The
Artist’s Mother by Rembrandt, what is the story there?
SH: The piece that you are looking at is a very rare original etching
done in the 17th century by Rembrandt. He did very few portraits
of his mother so this is a really special piece. You can see why he is
still considered to be the best etcher of all time. He was the first to
capture emotion, motion and depth of field in the medium.
8 • Fine Art Magazine • November 2011
JEF: And who are some of the others? You
have Chagall here, and some great Dalis.
SH: Yes, we have Chagall, Picasso, Miro,
Dali, the Pissarro family, Renoir, Manet, Mary
Cassatt, and the list goes on and on. We were
the first gallery to bring Salvador Dali to Boston
and it was a little bit nerve-wracking because we
weren’t quite sure what the response would be to
some of the pieces, that are a little bit more avant
garde. The Boston Globe saw the show and ran a
major article on us saying our gallery is “not to
be missed”, it turned out very well for us as we
sold over a million dollars worth of Dali in one
month. We almost had to hire security guards
because we had so many people coming through.
It was just great to be introducing something new
and fresh and to see such an incredible response
from our clientele as well as from people that
we had never seen before. So it was really just
an incredible event for us.
JEF: Any other highlights that come quickly
to mind?
SH: More recently, under the High Patronage
of His Serene Highness, Prince Albert II of
Monaco, we hosted an exclusive exhibition by
Monegasque master artist, Claude Gauthier,
to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the
revolutionary Ballets Russes. The prestigious
honor included the debut of original works by Gauthier, personally
chosen by the Principality of Monaco as the official artist to
commemorate this significant cultural event.
JEF: You have invited mid-career artists who are established and
they are continuing to flourish in their careers. Jamali is quite an
innovative artist.
SH: Yes, he actually started a whole new movement in art called
Mystical Expressionism. In his pigment on cork he’s working
inside the painting in a shallow pool of water and moving the pure
pigments with his feet, an interesting technique to go along with
his beautiful work.
JEF: You also carry Luc Leestemaker.
SH: Yes, a highly sought after contemporary landscape artist. He
is originally from Holland and now lives in Los Angeles. He has a
cerebral style in which he creates inner landscapes that border on
abstract. In some cases he even crosses over to pure abstract. When
they are more realistic people look and say, ‘That’s Nantucket,’ or
‘That’s Laguna Beach’ about the same piece. So I think he really
appeals to everyone. I don’t think I’ve ever found anyone who doesn’t
love his work.
JEF: You have some lovely Picassos.
SH: We pride ourselves in them. We have over 50 works in our
collection, including some of his most sought after linocuts.
JEF: What gave you the foresight to go into this mixture of
contemporary artists and established collectible pieces by 18th and
19th century artists?
SH: Well, I’m an art historian by degree and my concentration was
baroque through modern. As a result, those artists are the staples
of the gallery. We also like to showcase living artists who have
museum credentials but are more affordable so collectors can buy
great works without having to spend a million dollars. They can
spend ten thousand dollars (or less or more) for a really important
artist of today. We are finding that people want a place to put their
money where they going to enjoy it and its not going to disappear
overnight. You won’t find another Rembrandt
from the 17th century, you won’t find another
Renoir in the condition we have it in. It’s a rare
opportunity and its something that they can
enjoy as well.
JEF: What kinds of charities do you serve
through your gallery?
SH: Being a wife and mother of three, I am very
interested in children’s organizations so we work
very closely with many of them; the March of
Dimes, The Home of Little Wanderers, WGBH,
Art in Giving. We also support the MFA and
many other important organizations. I was also
on the board for The 100 For Massachusetts
General Hospital, and currently serve on the
board of CJP, so whatever we can do to help any
organization, we’re always happy to get involved.
JEF: You have beautiful Pissarros and you enjoy
them, and also Paulemile Pissarro.
SH: Yes. He was the youngest son of Camille
and we represent the entire family. We’ve had
Lelia Pissarro here in the gallery with us, the
great-granddaughter.
Royo, En Compañia
JEF: That must have been fun!
SH: Yes. She’s quite lovely and a very talented
painter as well. Her father is also living and
true essence of women in his compositions, joining us from Spain.
working today. H. Claude Pissarro’s work is hanging right here
In December we’ll be having an impressionist show. ‘Then and
behind me.
Now’, with Impressionists like Renoir and Pissarro along with
JEF: I’ve always enjoyed his work.
Samir, Zupan and Royo and
SH: Yes he does a wonderful
some of the other wonderful
job and unlike his famous
living artists as well.
ancestors, he is not a plein
JEF: Do you have anything
air painter, he works in the
that is your favorite thought
studio. Because of that he’s
very meticulous and takes a
in art currently, a movement
great deal of time, unlike the
or an idea or a wish that
prior Impressionists. When
something would happen?
you view his work it is almost
Anything that inspires you
like looking at a kaleidoscope
personally other than the
because there are so many
beautiful works in your
colors layered next to one
gallery?
another.
SH: Well, I think art should
JEF: Here is a wonderful
just be about making people
Tissot. You really have an inhappy and helping people.
depth collection.
The more we can get
SH: Absolutely. We have
involved with charities that
beautiful Belle Epoque pieces,
Jules Ch eret, To u l ou s eincorporate art, the better.
Lautrec, and many other very
Right now we are excited
important works.
to be working with Art In
JEF: You’ve seen the value of
Giving, a very important
your contemporary artists rise
organization. They offer gift
Samir Sammoun, Olivier, bronze
dramatically in the last 10 years
certificates to corporations
also, correct?
and individuals that can be
SH: Yes. Samir, Bruno and
used towards an art purchase. 50% of the sale goes to the artist and
Luc—we’ve seen usually a 10% increase per year with each of them.
100% of the balance goes to supporting cancer care organizations.
JEF: How about the more collectible 18th and 19th century works?
In essence, art and its ability to elevate people is what inspires me
SH: Some have really jumped in value. The Matisse Jazz exhibition,
every day.
pieces have gone up 30-40% from the last time that we were able
Galerie d’Orsay is at 33 Newbury Street in Boston in the heart of
to acquire the collection in 2005. It was really quite a strong jump.
JEF: What is on your fall schedule?
Back Bay, the very first block between Arlington and Berkeley.
SH: In November we will have the artist Royo, who captures the
www.galerie­-dorsay.com 617-266-8001
Fine Art Magazine • November 2011 • 9