The Copley Society of Art
158 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02116 / 617-536-5049
Tues - Sat 11 - 6, Sun - Mon 12 - 5
“Co/So Artists A to Z: Shades of Frost”
Lower Gallery, January 18 - March 10, 2007
The Copley Society of Art is a little oasis of accessible, affordable visual art in the midst of the priciest, toniest street in Boston. It’s the only gallery on Newbury Street where the collector has a chance to purchase artwork that won’t require taking out a second mortgage on the house.
The lower level of the two-tiered gallery is the place to start. Many of the approximately 500 artists who make up the society launch their careers down there. Of the 300 artists who apply for membership each year, only 30 are admitted. Consider the fact that their work passed through this firewall as a sort of provenance. The review committee here has high standards.
Each member may contribute three works to the society’s quarterly exhibitions, some of which are juried, some not. 
The current show, “Co/So Artists A to Z: Shades of
Frost,” is not juried and is full of oils, pastels, watercolors, acrylics, photographs, monotypes, drypoints, gouache, and collages. This tapas approach is a great way for neophytes to develop their taste in art and veterans to capture the work of an artist they think might skyrocket into the firmament. Everybody wins.
Elisabeth Pearl's trio are 4 1/4 x 4 1/4, $165 each, oil on panel
Good things come in small packages - pieces are limited to 100 square inches. The walls are covered with lively contrasts in color, texture, theme, and imaginations. The relatively few pieces that are abstract are not so challenging that they defy comprehension. 
Richard W. Field, 'Robbie’s Towing', $1200, acrylic, 9 x 12
Art lines the walls and is stacked in display boxes on the floor. As soon as a piece is sold, another takes its place. Once in a while, Assistant Gallery Manager Katherine Millet will move pieces around “If the space begins to look a little tired.”
Best of Show: Dianne Panarelli Miller, “Sidewalk Café”, oil, 12x9, $650
The prices range from $200 to $1700. Don’t panic. Only a handful runs more than a grand. At least half are less than $500, with scores of pieces falling between $250 and $400. The price tag of “Best of Show” was $650 (see photo). And all the art is framed. Collectors know full well that it can easily cost $100 to frame an acquisition.
One of the most endearing features of the gallery is how comfortable a visitor feels asking questions about the art on the walls. They’ve developed the non-snooty knack for answering questions from curious visitors into an art form.
The Copley Society’s web page features photos of some of the “A -Z” artwork http://copleysociety.org/home.html
Comments