The Original Collectors Series: Buffalo, NY

“My father, Barry Johnson, was an artist, and his final project for his master’s degree at Buffalo State College in the 1960s was to open a little art gallery. He and his friends put on a successful show, and that was his first taste of the business. He met my mother, Eileen Sellers, two or three years later, and she became the Benjaman Gallery’s co-owner. My grandfather was also an artist. I can’t paint, but I became an art dealer, so I guess something artistic passed down to me.

My parents were in a small studio space in downtown Buffalo when the woman next door who ran a vintage store told them she wanted to sell her building, a three-floor Victorian. It was a classic Buffalo mansion, built as a single-family house around 1905. This was hippie days, so they basically shook on it, and that was that. The gallery has been in it ever since.

My parents are both local: My father is from Jamestown, and my mother is from Buffalo itself. They focused on American 19th- and 20th-century art, and specialized in Buffalo regional paintings and promoting local artists, like Charles Burchfield and Robert Blair. We also do appraisals, framing—it’s a unique, one-stop shop for everything art-related. Our family has been champions of the arts in this city. My father developed close personal relationships with a lot of the artists he represented—he put on one-man shows for people who wouldn’t normally have a place to show their work and he brought world-famous artists to Buffalo, like Peter Max and Erté, and they put on a Dali show at the gallery. They also tried to educate people about collecting period art and supporting Buffalo artists. There’s a small, devoted base of art collectors, but it’s a city of 300,000 known for chicken wings—not the most obvious place to be an art dealer.” — Charles Johnson

What was it like growing up in an art gallery?

Our house was full of paintings, and then the gallery itself was awesome. It’s on the national historic landmark registry, and everything is original. From the age of eight I was talking to clients. I’d have Peter Max drawing a sketch of me before his show started. You learn a lot growing up in a small business, I was exposed to every single aspect. For someone who became an art dealer, it was a unique education. You can learn about art going to museums, but working at a gallery you get close to the paintings, and you get to know about provenance and condition, accurate signatures, things like that.

Who are some of your parents’ favorite regional artists?

Charles Burchfield. He died before my parents started the gallery, so they didn’t work with him directly, but he’s a favorite. An incredible visionary. The sketch of his in this sale is great because you can see him lay the groundwork for a full-scale work. Other artists before their time are Alex Fournier and Virginia Cuthbert. One we still have a relationship with is Robert Blair, who worked with Burchfield. He, his wife Jeanette and his son Bruce all had shows here.

What are some of this sale’s key pieces?

The Emile Gruppe—when we had the opportunity to acquire this painting, we couldn’t resist. Gruppe had close ties to western New York. The color palette is exceptional and even more luminous in person on the wall. The Eliot Clark is a very special example—he’s best known for his impressionist paintings, but this has a very modern feel. My parents bought this in New York City while visiting me at NYU! “Leda and the Swan” is one of the most interesting pieces from my parents’ private collection. My mother never wanted to sell it, even though they sold other Renoir-Guino works. Renoir had a strong desire to create sculptures towards the end of his career, but arthritic hands wouldn’t allow it. He was introduced to a talented young Catalan sculptor named Richard Guino, and the two had instant chemistry. It’s a relatively unknown story and a rare opportunity to own something co-designed by Renoir. Finally, the Theodore Dillaway “St. Lawrence,” which is housed in a period fluted cove frame and full of vibrance. The artist is relatively rare with only a handful of known images, but a spectacular talent.

What’s next for your family?

We’re clearing out a lot of my parents’ personal collection to make more space in the gallery for contemporary art. My sister moved back to Buffalo about 10 years ago, got really involved with the local art scene and decided to focus on contemporary. We’ll have the first floor dedicated to contemporary, and the second floor for 19th and 20th century. Then in Brooklyn, I have my own business as an art dealer.