Forum
« Window Installers Recommendation C of O Use Group 4 »
July 31, 2009
African Paintings
Anyone know a good place in NYC to get quality African paintings?
Comments
Don't recall all the details but there's a storage place on 27th Street and 11th Ave in Manhattan that is a hub for African art, and they use the first floor as a kind of market where you can go in and buy.
Posted by: denton at July 31, 2009 7:18 AM
There are a few places in bed Stuy but I'm not sure what they really carry. One is on the corner of Macon & Lewis, one on Stuyvesant just 2-3 doors north of Halsey and there's a furniture store with nice stuff and some artwork on the NW corner of Decateur or MacDonough and malcolm X. All within a 5 min walk of each other.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at July 31, 2009 8:45 AM
This isn't real advice I admit, but I saw the topic and had to reply.
I say go to Africa! My husband and I went in January. If you travel midweek, Emirates will find you a round trip for under a grand to a bunch of different locations (depending on what kind of art you are looking for.) There might even be cheaper options to South Africa, if you are adventerous enough to go overland (not recommended.) Besides that, $50 for the visa and you may want to consider a yellow fever jab and malaria pils (my insurance paid for 80% of those.)
But when you get there, you'll be shocked at how cheap art is. I say this because we went with a friend who is the "exporter" for a mutual friends gallery, which sadly is in Chicago. The amount of art they let me bring home through customs was crazy. Easily, over $1500 American, which cost about $200 to buy there. We could have bought a bronze for less than $100 US but didn't want to pay extra freight on Emirates on the return with all the other stuff we had. Oh! The woodcarvings ( made of all non protected old growth trees of course... Gulp)
That, and it's a filthy cheap and awesome vacation.
But to answer your question, I have no idea where to buy African Art in NYC. But yeah, you should go to East Africa.
Posted by: HoneysuckleWeeks at July 31, 2009 10:09 AM
You might also try online? ...I suggest this because there is more to choose from and it is cheaper due to overhead costs of a land based gallery - a friend of mine runs this non profit gallery: http://africanpaintingsgallery.com
African paintings bring so much style and color to the home and this site has quite a few and at a reasonable cost.
Good luck.
Posted by: andrew_willis at July 31, 2009 11:36 AM
In part, the answer depends on whether your primary search is art that's pleasing to you, or whether it's important to be sure of provenance, etc. The staff at the Museum for African Art is really knowledgeable and helpful: http://www.africanart.org/
For more sources and info, also try the Brooklyn Museum and MoCADA: http://www.mocada.org/
For contemporary African artists, one gallery source (by appointment) is: http://www.contempafricanart.com/
Posted by: vinca at July 31, 2009 12:01 PM
The Hell's Kitchen Flea Market has a guy who sells African art. And he's very interesting and lovely to talk to, and his prices are not terrible and it's a great flea market to check out anyways! Lots of global stuff, not just typical vintage bric a brac.
Posted by: honeycut at July 31, 2009 12:30 PM
Post a comment
Please be patient while your comment is published. It may take a moment.