Date: Fri 10-Jan-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: DONNAM

Illustration: C

Location: A13

Quick Words:

Beaux-Arts-Miller-Coleman

Full Text:

(New location for Beaux Arts Gallery/Miller Framing, 1/10/97)

Beaux Arts Moves To CT's Arts & Antiques Capitol

(with photos)

WOODBURY - After 14 years of successful business in Southbury, Peter Miller,

owner of the Beaux Arts Gallery/Miller Frame Studio, has moved his framing,

art gallery and restoration business to Woodbury.

"Our business continues to grow and we have outgrown our current space. We

hope our new location will expose ourselves, our art and our specialty

services to the local residents as well as out-of-town visitors," Mr Miller

said. Beaux Arts opened in Barclay Square on Monday, January 6. A formal

gallery opening will be held in February.

After searching for a new location for the past year, the opportunity for

Beaux Arts to move from Main Street in Southbury to its new home, in

Woodbury's Barclay Square, presented itself at the end of 1996.

"The window opened for Peter, after we spent time looking around Southbury,

Roxbury, Newtown... towns within this area," explained Michael Coleman, the

gallery manager at Beaux Arts.

The current show at Beaux Arts Gallery, a return engagement of "My Victorian

Neighbor" - acrylic works by Connecticut artist Anda Jasmine Styler, which

debuted at Beaux Arts last spring before touring - will continue to hang on

the new Beaux Arts walls through January 20.

Mr Coleman said the opportunity for the gallery/framing studio to move to

Woodbury came so quickly, Beaux Arts had opened the Styler show in Southbury

before plans even began to form for a move to Woodbury.

"The opportunity came up so quickly, when we were planning Anda's show [late

last year], this hadn't even come up yet," Mr Coleman said.

The gallery/framing shop will celebrate a formal opening in February. Its next

one-person show will open in April, featuring still life and landscape

watercolors by Janice Baragwanath. Beaux Arts has four one-person shows

scheduled for 1997.

Mr Miller has always been committed to providing quality and dependable

services to the community and has earned a high level of professional regard

in the framing industry.

"I take the education of myself, my staff and our customers very seriously. In

an effort to keep abreast of new techniques and materials, I frequently enroll

in classes, attend trade shows and urge my staff to do likewise," he added.

Mr Miller is a contributing feature writer for Picture Framing magazine. His

frame designs were selected for the front cover twice in 1996 and have

included such topics as mat decoration, specifically French matting, and the

care of artwork. Future articles will discuss gilded mats and reverse painted

glass mats, both specialties he offers to his customers. Many of Mr Miller's

clients own outstanding examples of his individually designed French mats.

In his quest to further his knowledge and abilities as a gilder and frame

restorer, Mr Miller has studied with Grace Baggott of Baggott Leaf, New York

City, and Giovanni Bucchi, a well known conservator and founder of the gilding

laboratory at the Metropolitan Museum in New York City. Additionally Mr Miller

has studied with Martin Horowitz and Lou Tilmont of Gold Leaf Framemakers in

Sante Fe, N.M.

The new home for Beaux Arts Gallery/Miller Frame Studio is a spacious and

superb setting for displaying fine paintings and sculpture. With the help of

its entire staff and a nationally acclaimed interior design firm, Stingray

Hornsby, the new site features high ceilings, large wall surfaces and the

ability to study works of art from a distance anywhere in the gallery.

Architectural features such as angled walls, moveable walls and glass blocks

add to the excitement and ambiance of the space.

"We are extremely pleased with the outcome of the project. The tradesmen who

were involved have certainly gone above and beyond what I thought possible,"

Mr Miller said.

The art gallery, directed by Michael Coleman, will continue to showcase some

of the finest artists in Connecticut. Some such artists include Tom Adkins,

Kevin Aldrich, and Stella Bloch of Newtown, along with Ms Styler. The newly

designed art gallery space will provide an attractive and pleasant environment

for which to view works of art.

In addition, Mr Coleman provides research, consignments and conservation

consultation for older works of art. Mr Coleman has brought to the art gallery

his many years of experience in art gallery work, art conservation and

framing. He is affiliated with a national conservation association.

The Beaux Art staff also includes Jennifer Siemon, who is trained in picture

framing and mat design, including French mats. Mrs Siemon also publishes the

Beaux Arts Gallery seasonal newsletter. Her background is in custom framing

and marketing.

The new location is not only prime in terms of traffic that will see the

gallery on the corner of Route 6/Main Street South and Sherman Hill Road, but

the gallery is additionally very accessible for visitors. Set up within its

own building in Barclay Square, Beaux Arts/Miller Frame Studio has its own

circular driveway running next to the gallery, and a full parking lot for all

businesses within Barclay Square is also available for visitors.

The building has three levels, the second of which is the "ground-level"

floor, where gallery visitors/restoration customers enter when visiting the

business. This floor will serve as the main frame design area and the art

gallery. Upstairs is Mr Miller's frame construction and gilding workshop, his

restoration workshop, and also where Mr Coleman will perform selected art

restorations.

Downstairs, Mr Miller has set up an inventory/supply area, and his cutting and

joining room for his frame making. Every area of the building is appropriately

lit, whether it is the track lighting with adjustable levels of brightness in

the gallery area, or the brighter lights in the remainder of the building's

work areas.

The building was formerly the home of a real estate office and a bank branch;

Mr Miller and Mr Coleman plan to put every inch of available space to good

use. Doors on the main level are at the front and back, allowing easier

customer access.

"We are certain Beaux Arts Gallery will be a fine complement to the other

galleries already in Woodbury," Mr Miller said. With the expansion into a

larger space, Beaux Arts is already working on opening on Sundays, something

not done in its Southbury location.

"We will eventually have Sunday hours at some point in the near future," Mr

Miller said.

Woodbury is already known as the antiques capitol of Connecticut, offering

endless hours of shopping along Main Street. In addition to antiques shopping,

there are many galleries in Woodbury which is a nice addition to the shopping

scene. Situated on a prominent corner on Main Street, Beaux Arts is another

attraction for Woodbury's antiques shoppers and art lovers.

Beaux Arts' new home is now open in Barclay Square, at 16 Sherman Hill Road in

Woodbury. Regular gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 10 am-5:30 pm;

Saturday, 10 am-4:30 pm. Call 263-3939.