The Grand Opening

For some reason Openings are always "Grand".  I guess that is because they are important to those with a vested interest and for those with an insatiable curiosity!

My family art business has just moved to its 4th New York venue.  When my father arrived from Europe he established Rosenberg & Stiebel in his apartment on Central Park South.  Within 5 years he moved the company with his partners to a 57th Street Gallery which though only 5 blocks away represented the center of the art world.  It was a modest gallery to start out but grew over the following decades until after 45 years it grew to 2 full floors occupying about 8,000 square feet.

The next move at the millennium was to our town house all the way east on 68th Street. Now, this year we have made our first move without my father.  Again by moving just a few blocks laterally we have moved from off center to the very pulse of the New York old master world.  We are now on 69th Street between Madison and Fifth Avenues.

Another advantage to the new venue is that the gallery is on different levels making it easier to focus the visitor on a specific work of art; as well as allowing for a 16 foot high gallery which works perfectly with the works of art from Continental Europe of past centuries that we deal in.

One of the questions we had to ask ourselves was are we trying to show the objects as they might appear in the collector’s home or are we offering a bazar from which they should choose.   I think both concepts have advantages marketing-wise.  In the end, however, it is my name on the door and I want my treasures to look comfortable in their new home. 

I am sure you have heard that the worst disease a dealer can suffer from is falling in love with his collection… I mean inventory.  I am afraid that I do  suffer from this malady.  I subscribe to the maxim intoned by the famous art  dealer, Klaus Perls, who said, “I never sell anything.  Every once in a while I allow someone to buy something.”

As we have for the past decade, we will remain by appointment only, since we have a small staff.  We don’t want anyone disappointed if they come by.  But you can phone from the corner to see if somebody is here.