So, today was my first day on the job, and things couldn’t have gone smoother! I left the house a little early so I could time my bike to work and possibly stop for some coffee. Turns out I’m only a 20-minute bike ride from the gallery! Well, when I got to work we immediately went into a meeting. Though it was pretty informal and only three of us were there, it was still my first meeting which makes it pretty exciting. Mr. Hicklin (my boss) gave me my first job—addressing and mailing. I know—a typical intern job, but the day got so much better from there. After being introduced to the stamps, envelopes, and mail corner, I got to help Jane Harper (my other boss) catalogue some new acquisitions. The gallery recently acquired six original Anna Heyward Taylor prints (these can run from $2,000 to $20,000 a piece!). I got to unframe each piece and inspect it for markings, signatures, dates and the like. Now these works are on paper and date as far back as the early 20s, so needless to say, they were pretty fragile, and I was a little nervous working with them. I learned that what one typically thinks of as aging (when the paper turns brown) is actually a form of molding called foxing, and it is not good for art! After carefully removing each piece, we took them outside to photograph (natural light is always better than artificial when photographic art) and then made “tombstones” out of the images. A tombstone is simply a thumbnail image of the work with the piece’s information underneath it (its artist, title, date, placement of any writing, etc). These tombstones are then sent out to potential clients, meaning that the piece could essentially be sold before even being viewed in the gallery.
After that, some random street people came in the gallery. Now most of our customers set-up appointments to come in and view particular pieces. Very rarely does someone come in off the street and buy an expensive piece of art. Today, however, a husband and wife came in just to look around. They collected European art, but also liked to acquire pieces by names known in the museum industry. Two pieces by Southern artist William Posey Silva caught their eye, and they ended up buying them for $81,000!! I’d call that a good day in the gallery!
As most of you know, Charleston is in the middle of the Spoleto Festival. Basically, everything is crowded and busy. The streets are busier than usual, the restaurants are full, and there is nowhere to park. Despite the crowds, I managed to grab lunch at a cute little French restaurant on Broad Street; it was inexpensive and delicious! I think this is the start of a great summer!
Things I am Thankful for Today:
Taylor (and my awesome new Spoleto poster)
Beautiful weather
PC (for the money to do this internship!)
The Charleston Renaissance Gallery (for the opportunity)
My bike and basket
JW (for finding me an awesome house with great roommates)
My comfortable bed
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