The Barbara Moore Fine Art Gallery is a gem in Chadds Ford. And so is its owner, Barbara Moore. Her entrée into the art world dates back to the early years of her first marriage when Moore met the Wyeth family. She and her then husband lived in Chadds Ford, and her in-laws were neighbors of Andrew and Betsy Wyeth.
Moore got to know “Andy.” She first saw his work when he exhibited it at the Delaware Art Museum. The relationship developed through his wife after she began working at Chadds Ford Gallery. Opened in 1969, Moore was brought on in 1976 to help out on the weekends. After her marriage collapsed, Moore started working more hours at the gallery. During this time, she also met the artist Paul Scarborough who was painting nearby. He introduced her to his inner circle of artists. One thing led to another and she eventually became the director of the gallery. While handling various aspects of the business, over the years she also found the time to nurture and advise the gallery artists.
When Chadds Ford Gallery moved away in 2017, Moore was faced with a new reality. She had just spent 43 years in a career forged in part by a fortuitous relationship with the Wyeth family and a relationship with Scarborough who had further piqued her interest in art. Suddenly, she was out of a job, but it wasn’t for long. After all, Moore had amassed a wealth of art knowledge while becoming an expert on the Brandywine Valley style, and she wasn’t ready for retirement. After much discussion with her family, she decided to open her own gallery, in the same location. She knew it would be challenging given all the changes in the business of art, but she was up for the task.
At 84, Moore still loves the work. Since the height of the gallery’s popularity when buyers would drop in during off hours to purchase paintings for their clients and chauffeurs would collect the newly framed works, to navigating today’s online platforms used to promote her artists and events, she has had a front row seat for all the action.
This is a woman of substance who has learned a lot about art. When she started, she simply applied the skills she learned selling auto services to selling art saying “you learn the product you need to sell. If you know your product, you can sell it.” Today Moore keeps up on her research of award winning artists but admits that it’s hard to introduce new artists to her patrons. Getting them to consider other styles requires some coaxing. She recalled the days when patrons would bring in a swatch of cloth to hold up to a painting asking if it would match the sofa. Moore later added, “Abstract art is still a hard sell and buckets, barns and daisies are what everyone wants.” It doesn’t stop her from showing contemporary artists though. She speaks enthusiastically about them. She shows works by Karen Trimble, Signe Sundberg-Hall, Carol Mangano, Jackie Kane, Rachel Altschaler, Carolyn Anderson, Peter Sculthorpe, James Fitzgerald, Don Rankin, Tim Wadsworth, Paul Scarborough, and many others.
And, there are still plenty of Wyeth works on hand. Moore thinks the rise in popularity of plein-air painting is partly responsible for reducing foot traffic at galleries and believes collectors are developing relationships directly with artists today. She also understands the business has moved toward art fairs and online sales and has embraced the new sharing sites. Moore’s Gallery has 7.1K monthly viewers on Pinterest and over 500 followers on Instagram, a platform which many believe is the most popular to view and purchase visual art. She has more online sales these days but is still open five days a week.
Located in the Chadds Ford Barn Shops, the gallery was reconfigured by the new owners when Moore took over. The footprint is smaller but the framing business is still running and there is still enough space to highlight the art. Other gift items including jewelry and Arden + James brand handbags are also featured in the space. Moore holds two to three group shows a year in addition to the current miniatures show that one that grew out of an idea she came up with some 39 years ago! The “Third Annual Christmas in Miniature Art … and moore” is on view through December 23rd.
Other events worth checking out: In Delaware, “Art Works for the Holidays!” is on view at The Station Gallery through Dec. 24th.
Cerulean Arts Collective on Ridge Ave. in Philadelphia is exhibiting work by its associate members through January 11, 2020 and features artists Jean Burdick, Laura Eyring, Lee Muslin and many others.
Whatever you do this week, support the arts!!
About Constance McBride
A native of Philadelphia, Constance McBride lived in Arizona for 16 years, where desert observations made a transformative impact on her work as a research based visual artist. Passionate about contemporary art, she was actively engaged in the local arts community. She served as a board member for several art organizations, managed an artist collective/gallery space, curated and juried several exhibitions and wrote for two arts publications in Phoenix. She taught ceramics at Shemer Art Center and Museum and exhibited her work both locally and nationally. McBride returned to Pennsylvania in 2018 and resides in Chester Springs with her husband and two dogs. In West Chester, she serves as a board member at The Art Trust Gallery at Meridian Bank and teaches ceramics at Chester County Art Association. She also teaches at Clay on Main in Oley, PA. She is a member of American Craft Council, Philadelphia Sculptors, and Women’s Caucus for Art, Philadelphia Chapter.
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