About the Gallery (Portland, ME) Richard Boyd Art Gallery is owned and operated by Richard F. Boyd, a retired Nurse Anesthetist and ceramicist, and his wife Pamela Williamson a retired business woman. Rick and Pam own a home on Peaks Island in Portland, ME where he has lived for more than four decades.
Rick moved from Pennsylvania to Maine in the 1970’s to work at Maine Medical Center. His first business Second Story Pottery was located on Exchange Street in Portland’s Old Port. In 1976 Rick purchased a home on Peaks Island and soon after closed Second Story Pottery. Through the early 1990’s his studio was located on the first floor of his home.
In the mid 1990’s, Rick had a two story building built on the front of his property. Upon completion, he moved his pottery studio to the second floor of the building. The first floor was used for a variety of things, including storage until 2006, when Rick and Pam took part of the first floor and turned it into as Rick says, “A very rough make shift gallery.”
When Rick retired from Nursing in 2011, the gallery went through a major renovation. Before re-opening in 2012, Pam and Rick agreed to focus their time and money on exhibiting original works of visual art created by a diverse group of established and emerging artists, with a connection to the state of Maine. They decided to exhibit works from a variety of genres including landscapes and still life, in a range of styles from traditional realism to contemporary abstracts, in both two and three-dimensional mediums.
Since the grand re-opening in 2012, with few exceptions, they have presented an exhibit of fine art every month. Shows vary from solo, to group and theme exhibits so clients and visitors always discover something new and exciting when they visit the gallery. The Gallery represents a group of established, internationally and nationally renowned award winning visual artists and their art.
Pam and Rick are art advocates. They love art and believe it is an international language everyone can understand. For them art is a catalyst to bring people together for creative and constructive dialog. In their view, visual art should be seen free of charge by anyone who enjoys art so the gallery is open free of charge. The small commission received from the sale of art in the gallery goes to help pay the overhead on the commercial building not in their bank account. Pam laughs and says, “Rick doesn’t receive payment for the sale of his work in the gallery it goes to help cover the overhead.”
Any bills not covered by the commission received from the sale of art in the gallery they pay out of their retirement account. “We’re not wealthy people we just love art. As long as we are physically and financially able to keep the gallery operating we will.”
No artist pays them to view their works of art for possible inclusion in an exhibit, to exhibit their work, or represent them. There are no membership fees, and the gallery is not a pay-to-play, or vanity gallery. It is owned and operated by a man and his wife who want to give back to a community they love the visual arts community. As an owner operated gallery they receive no financial help in the form of donations, or grants from individuals, organizations, or trusts.
Most artists come to them seeking representation via word of mouth from other artists. Some artists contact them by post or email, and some just drop by the gallery and introduce themselves. “We rarely have an open call for entry and when we do it’s for very specific exhibits like Off the Wall: Satire in Contemporary American Art.” Many of the artists represented by them today, have been with them since the gallery’s beginning.
During the months of April through October the Gallery is open free of charge between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. daily. From November through the end of March the Gallery is open free of charge between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Additional days and times can be scheduled by appointment.
For weekly news and updates follow the gallery on Facebook at Https://www.facebook.com/RichardBoydArtGallery and on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/richardboydartgallery9327 . To receive the galleries monthly news letter via email please send your email address to info@richardboydartgallery.com . Thank you.
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