All art is meant to evoke emotion. paintings, sculptures and other creative works serve to beautify a space, pique one’s curiosity or kindle the imagination. But there is a difference between art that is pleasing versus art that endures. Avery Gallery specializes in the latter, offering a world-class selection of paintings and limited edition prints by known artists from the 1800s to the present day, as well as first-class art restoration and framing services to ensure treasured works stand the test of time.
“We are the only fine art gallery in this area,” says partner Shanna Holt-Edwards, who runs the 9,000-square-foot space in Marietta, Georgia. The standalone building in the city’s downtown district houses an ever-changing display of sculpture, vessels, paintings and prints from sought-after artists around the globe.
“We have a Marsden Hartley here, as well as the only two original paintings by Russian exile Vladimir Tretchikoff available worldwide,” Holt-Edwards says, proudly. “Tretchikoff was actually the highest-grossing artist of the 20th century, after Picasso. We also have many original prints by Salvador Dalí and Picasso in our collection.”
The gallery exhibits numerous contemporary artists as well, such as Herbert Creecy, Steven Seinberg, Alex Berdysheff and Marietta native Ellen DeLoach. In addition to Avery Gallery’s roster of loyal patrons and new customers from the greater Atlanta area, it maintains a global footprint through online retail platforms like Artsy, Etsy and eBay. Overseas sales are mostly to the United Kingdom, but the gallery also has shipped pieces to Italy and France. Further expanding its reach, the long-standing fine art retailer offers antique etchings and engravings and a wide selection of limited edition prints for sale through its website. Recent listings include hand-signed lithographs by Michael Delacroix, Charles Bragg, Frank McCarthy and Mishell Swartwout, and serigraphs by such artists as Dorothy Bowman and Lowell Nesbitt. Although prints by renowned painters like Dalí run upward of $8,000, the gallery also has affordable options posted on its website, including a series of deckle-edge woodcut prints hand-signed by artist Pearce Bates for less than $100 each. “It’s a broad spectrum” says Holt-Edwards of the myriad fine art pieces for sale.
She and two other longtime employees purchased Avery Gallery in 2022 from original owners Shae and Gwenda Avery, the husband-and-wife team who opened the fine art retailer in 1982. Jason Cochrane is director of the framing and sculpture restoration departments, and Monica Glenn oversees the painting restoration and paper preservation departments. “Mrs. Avery was the kindest soul I’ve ever met, and she would have liked to see the business continue after her death,” says Holt-Edwards. The three partners share a commitment to uphold the founding couple’s legacy, she says, adding, “It’s a passion project for us.”
That passion includes providing white glove service to the gallery’s new and existing clientele, particularly for art restoration. Paintings that have become brittle, damaged or discolored with age can be lined with new canvas to stabilize old paint, then carefully cleaned and deftly restored to archival standards by the gallery’s skilled conservators using the best materials and techniques. Its restoration experts assess what is needed and examine paintings using a black light to determine whether prior restoration work was done before sending a quote, notes Holt-Edwards, and pricing is based on the time involved.
Although many past projects have been family heirlooms with little monetary value, the gallery also has restored museum-quality pieces. “We just lined and cleaned a Chagall painting, and we’ve been privileged to work on a Rubens,” says Holt-Edwards.
Avery Gallery likewise offers restoration services for sculptures and antique frames, methodically filling in missing pieces and color-matching to provide flawless results. “We do ceramic, porcelain, wood and marble sculptures—the full gamut,” Holt-Edward says. “We have clients all over the country and have pieces mailed to us for restoration work.”
A beautifully restored painting by Charles-Émile Jacque that once belonged to John Warne Gates, president of the Texas Company (now known as Texaco), currently hangs in the gallery, showcasing the team’s exemplary abilities in restoration. In addition to repairs on the painting itself, conservators recreated pieces of ornamentation that had broken off the finished-corner frame, then regilded and antiqued the frame to match the original finish. “It’s definitely highly skilled work,” Holt-Edwards says, adding that people who bargain shop for restoration services usually regret it.
In addition to fine art sales and restoration services, Avery Gallery has gained a reputation for designing and executing complex framing projects. Known for its quality materials, the gallery offers acid-free museum mounting, matting and backing for original works, as well as conservation and museum glass. The highly trained team has provided custom framing services for several universities across the Southeast, large organizations and government agencies, as well as area museums, including the museum inside Barnsley Resort.
The sizeable interior of the gallery’s exhibit space and extensive selection of mouldings and mats make Avery the go-to resource for complex framing projects. With room to spread out, when needed, the gallery specializes in assembling beautifully designed frames for large-scale artworks, whether modern or antique. It often receives referrals from Atlanta-area shops that lack the space to handle oversize pieces, such as local Michaels and Hobby Lobby stores. “Our tagline for framing is, ‘If you can dream it, we can frame it,’” says Holt-Edwards, noting the largest piece they have framed was a 9-by-7-foot portrait by artist Chuck Close. “The client had called at least 30 places before he found us.”
Avery Gallery is currently planning its spring exhibition, which will include an opening reception in March. “We serve good wine and good food, and the openings are very well attended,” Holt-Edwards says of the quarterly soirees. She also encourages local interior designers to visit the gallery, which offers commissions to the trade, and says the space is available as a rental for events as well. The gallery’s main exhibition showroom can fit 50 people comfortably for a sit-down dinner or 100 people for a cocktail party, and there is an additional small area for people to gather outdoors. Free parking is available for event guests, and the gallery is convenient to several hotels in the heart of historic Marietta.
The original owners never did any advertising, Holt-Edwards notes; the business was built on word of mouth. Although Avery Gallery still receives abundant referrals and consistent foot traffic, the new owners are eager to get the word out about their space. “We all enjoy what we do,” she says, cheerfully, and the doors are open to welcome fine art lovers from far and wide. *
Leslie J. Thompson is a Dallas-based freelance writer with a passion for art, interior design and international travel. Read more of her work at lesliejthompson.com.
