I love the "Sold!" section in the back of American Art Collector magazine where they tell a handful of fun stories about paintings that have sold straight from the pages of their magazine! I was lucky enough to experience this and have the story appear in their October issue. I'm often cooped up in my studio and not fully aware of the interactions between my collectors and gallery. So hearing stories like this about how someone fell in love with my work is so fulfilling! Thanks to Lyle Sarnevitz for sharing your story (and of course for adding my painting to your fabulous collection of work!). And the story goes...
Amy Lind's painting of a show girl titled "Star" appeared in November's American Art Collector as part of a group show Robert Lange Studios hosted called "Women Painting Women." Lyle Sarnevitz, a Charlotte collector, fell in love with the piece but when he visited the gallery website discovered it was over five feet tall and four feet wide. His large collection of over 80 contemporary realists meant he had little wall space left. Even though the piece would not fit in his collection, he tore out the image from the magazine and kept it. The next month Lind's paintings were again in the magazine and one of the works even graced the cover.
"I couldn't stop thinking about the piece," says Sarnevitz, who six months later had to see the painting in person so he drove down to the Charleston, South Carolina-based gallery. "The second I walked in the gallery I knew she would be coming home with me, even if I had to rearrange my entire house to make space."
In addition to this, the October issue of American Art Collector also highlighted my wonderful gallery, Robert Lange Studios, where I have been showing my work at for five years in a new feature called "Gallery Watch." Congrats to the fabulous gallery owners Rob and Megan Lange and gallery director Carri Scwabb for growing such a gem of a gallery! I'm so lucky to work with y'all and call you good friends! (If you look closely at the photo below, you'll see two of my paintings on the left).
