A 2021 Recap

It’s hard to believe that at this time last year, The Willard Gallery wasn’t even a concept quite yet. Though I’d been working with two artists in a consulting capacity, it wasn’t until mid-January of 2021 that the idea to turn the studio building behind our home into a by-appointment art gallery was hatched. By February, a handful of artists had signed on to work with me. The next month, my husband began building cabinetry for the space and the first art began arriving weeks later in April. We worked around the clock in the spring to get everything ready for our May launch date and before we knew it, The Willard Gallery was open for business.

We quickly settled into a workflow of shooting new art to list online, sending out newsletters, hosting in-person appointments in the space, and packing up art for shipment. August brought our first event - a summer Open House that spilled into the garden, complete with cupcakes and wine.

Thanks entirely to a supportive community of art enthusiasts and gallery followers, The Willard Gallery was included as a finalist for Maine’s Best Art Gallery in Down East Magazine’s Best of Maine contest after only a few months in operation.

This first year, 18 artists honored us by working with The Willard Gallery and we helped place 89 works of original art. We delivered paintings throughout Maine and shipped them as far as Australia. I’ve had the chance to not only develop relationships with our brilliant artists, but our collectors as well. I had no idea that things like coffee dates, loaning books, and sharing travel recommendations with collectors would be some of the perks of this incredible job when I started.

I’m incredibly thankful to this community who has so openly supported the gallery and our artists. The support is humbling and has made this dream of mine possible.

Thank you, thank you.