Hi, I am Robert Steele and together with my wife, Rita, we founded and own the
Steele Pointe Art Gallery, Art Brokerage and Custom Frame Studio in Springfield,
Ohio... which for all of you who are unfamiliar with Ohio, Springfield's located
in the West Central part of the state... about 30 minutes from downtown Dayton,
an hour west of Columbus, an hour-and-and-half north of Cincinnati, and an
hour-and-forty-five minutes east of Indianapolis. (If you fly in, we recommend
either the Dayton or Columbus airports.) Both interstate routes I-70 and I-75
are close by. Though Rita and I jointly own the Gallery, I am the primary
operator... Rita has a lot of other activities which keep her out of the
gallery, not the least being a fulltime grandmother to three (soon to be five) pre-school little ones... so most
of your gallery contacts are going to be with me.
Rita and I are both retired from the State of Ohio where between us we worked for the Rehabilitative Services Commission, the Ohio Department of Health, the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services, and the Ohio Emergency Management Agency. I left the Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services in 2002 after 20 years of state service and Rita left Emergency Management in 2006 with 27 years. Additionally I have 11½ years of military service, my last long term position being as the Deputy Provost Marshal (Deputy Chief of Police for Logistics and Administration) at Fort Knox (KY). We initially opened the gallery in 2003 as a gallery for the display and sale limited edition prints, as well as, a custom frame design studio... today it is an evolvement of this initial concept.
Being retired with an income sufficient
to meet
our personal expenses has given us some latitude in creating an art-related
business, more fine tuned to the community and our art value beliefs. What are
those values ? First, I believe in "real" art... art created by an artist
with vision and style. Many of my friends are artists, and even though
only a few of them can support themselves as artists, every one of them, who has
been selected to display at the Gallery, has the potential and artistic
skills needed to be a recognizable and viable artist... that's part of our "mission" as
a gallery and art brokerage. I highly recommend the purchase and collection of original works of
art or limited editions by an expanding, but limited grouping, of talented emerging artists.
Secondly, I am an adamant believer in the power of "presentation"... an appropriate and
enhancing display of the art through high quality, high value framing... the
quickest way to de-value a work of art is to display the
piece in a low quality, low value, non-archival setting. At times I am
asked to do an appraisal on a work of art... the first thing I always look at is the frame... if its cheap, the
art is probably a cheap reproduction.. Quality framing is part
of a sound art investment strategy. And, finally, you will, on occasion, hear
me rail against art practices which I view as especially disdainful, such as
the resizing and re-issuing of limited edition prints and offering
them as new "limiteds" or open editions... or, artists who can and do "create"
several "splash and brush" original paintings a day.
I believe that it is important, whenever possible, to maintain a "brick and mortar"
facility as the central gallery location so that you, the customer, have a
location where you can come to to see a work of art or meet with an artist
before making the purchase. Obviously this is only applicable to original
works artists who are local represented by the Gallery. If you have concerns about the
quality of limited edition prints the gallery may have
other works by your artist on hand which can serve as an example of the quality of
the artwork and reproduction capabilities of the Art Publishing House. Most limited edition works of art, from major art
publishing houses, are printed by the same art publisher, who is well noted for
superior quality reproductions approved by the artist. If you are unable
to make a trip to the gallery to view the art in person, the gallery can
recommend local experts and highly reputable gallery owners who can offer their
opinions regarding the condition and authenticity of the work.
◄ (Oops, just noticed that Daisy made it into this picture... she's a great gallery dog, except she loves being outside more than being in, and she'll bolt if given half a chance... consequently, she's been laid-off and now spends her time at home helping Barney keep the out-buildings free of groundhogs!)
Before I leave this page for today (12/12/08) there is one thing I would like to warn you about as you shop around for art... and that is "original works of art" purchased and resold by interior decorators and others which may appear, by content and artist's name, to have been the work of an American or European artist. As a gallery owner I regularily attend Art and Decor Expos (trade shows) in New York City, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Atlanta. What I have seen has been a many-fold increase in the number of Asian (primarily Chinese) importers offering, what would appear to the layman to be, un-stretched American and European canvases. These are being offered - in a large canvas format - for around $50 a piece... with the end buyer ultimately ends up paying a lot more... in part because their belief that they are buying a work of art by an American or European artist. In reality, these works have been produced by Chinese and Asian artists, individually or as a group. My feeling is that this practice is no different than what we are seeing by the pirated copying of CD's, DVD's and video games produced by American companies and artists. Don't misunderstand, some of this art is actually very well done and there are many very talented artists among those creating these fakes. I have petitioned the organizers of the expos to make changes... (1) requiring that the art be signed by the artists with their birth name, and (2) that the importer be required to stamp the back of the canvas with the country of origin. To date the promoters have not responded. Many of my artist friends who have had booths at these shows have made a decision not to return the next year... they simply cannot compete... there is always some unscrupulous dealers and artists willing to copy someone else's art and offer it at a much lower price. What does that say about the buyers whose greed overruns their moral obligations to you the end buyer !
Watch out, as well, for "originals" being offered at the big box stores (including several grocery chains)... check the back of the art, note the construction of the frame... this is a good indicator that your are getting poor quality and likely imported art. For some people this is "good enough"... at the Steele Pointe Art Gallery we don't sell "good enough" art... we sell quality works of art !
Robert