New Haven's last for-profit gallery closes its doors for good

A few times I tried to cozy up to these people and get them to look at some work. Maybe it's just as well; Hull’s Gallery One Whitney is shut down, according to Allan Appel's article "Last Picture Show" in the New Haven Independent. This leaves one of my favorite cities with no money-making art venues. I guess I'm having a hard time accepting it, because this is a big city with lots of money and an Ivy League college.

When the Whitney Avenue framing shop and gallery was launched in 2007, the economy seemed as if it could support the business.

“We perceived it as having proximity to a market segment that was not likely to walk up Chapel to come do framing with us,” said Stephen Kovel, Hull’s owner.

And it worked for a while. Lawyers and bankers, as opposed to academics and Yale-affiliated folks, were the primary customers for the paintings, photographs, collages, and occasional sculptures, like the work of steampunk artist Silas Finch.

The framing produced about a third of the revenue, Kovel said. That was typical for such a frame/gallery combination. But it was insufficient to keep up with costs.

“Framing and buying art are very discretionary,” said Kovel. When the economy softened and then grew worse, a decision had to be made.

I was never big on the "Art & Frame" paradigm. In every example I've ever seen the frames were so much better than the art. And how much framing do people really need? I haven't ever ordered a custom frame, and I can't say I know anyone who has. The tying together of contemporary art with a retail service strikes me as potentially beneficial, since it can bring more people into contact with art. But perhaps this isn't the way to do it, at least not anymore.

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